


Spiritflame

by Nikaya



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Action/Adventure, Adventure, Adventure & Romance, Eventual Romance, F/M, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Male-Female Friendship, Threats of Rape/Non-Con, Tragedy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-07
Updated: 2016-04-11
Packaged: 2018-05-31 22:19:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 19
Words: 80,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6489550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nikaya/pseuds/Nikaya
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ever wonder why the Avatar world feels so connected to ours? And who truly are the White Lotus? What happened to Azula after the war? This is a story about Zuko and what he needed to change for the better: a friend. Join Zuko on his journey to find himself again, where his choices mean everything. (Began writing previous to Legend of Korra.) Original Publish: January 2010</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Rescue

Chapter One: Rescue

_*Zuko*_

I swung my legs over the side of the bed and slid my feet into my satin slippers. I pulled on my robe and let my hair fall out of its ponytail. I walked out of the room and down the long hallway to the dining area. When I saw the food on the table, I immediately looked to the head of the table where Mai sat, reading a scroll. My Uncle Iroh sat next to her, and my mother, Ursa was to her left. She looked up when she heard me walk in.

“Good morning, Firelord Sleep-in,” Mai said, actually smiling. Since the war ended, we all moved into the palace together. Mai was happier than I had ever seen her, and it filled me with joy.

I walked down the long table and kissed my mother good morning and then I kissed Mai on the lips. “Better late than never. Good morning, Mom.”

“Good morning, Firelord Zuko.” She sighed, and looked at me with watery eyes.

I put a hand on her shoulder. “I love you, Mom.”

“I love you too, Zuko.”

“This must be the happiest family in all of the Fire Nation,” Uncle said, glowing.

“This is the happiest family,” I corrected. I couldn’t have wished for a better ending to a not-so enjoyable story. But it doesn’t even matter.

In the end, everything turned out different from how I had always dreamed....

But it was perfect.

“Zuko?” Mai asked me, a crease in her face forming. “Something wrong?”

I smiled. “Of course not.” I paused for a minute, taking it all in. I grabbed a chunk of bread off the table and put it in my coat pocket. “I’m going for a walk. I’ll be back later.”

“Be careful, sweetheart,” my mother called after me.

I walked down the hallway to the Entry Hall and down the hallway to the back of the palace. It lead me to the pond where everything seemed to have begun for me.

I stepped down the small staircase and sat at the bench beside the pond. I took out the bread and fed the turtle ducks. As I sat there, I remembered feeding them with my mother, the time Mai fell into the pond, and how much thinking I’ve done in this spot.

But most importantly, it was where I proposed to Mai.

I was so relieved that everything was finally settling into place for me. I knew this was how it was meant to be.

And yet....

Something didn’t feel right.

“Zuko...?”

I turned over my shoulder to see Mai stride down the steps. She sat next to me on the bench and I put my arm around her shoulders, kissing her tenderly on the lips.

“What’s bothering you?” she inquired. When she worries, she still is always careful to not give anything away.

“That’s just it.... Nothing.” Mai looked at my quizzically and I chuckled. “Maybe it’s just because I’m used to there always being something wrong. I’ve had to struggle my entire life just to stay alive or prove myself….” I sighed before continuing. “Now…? I don’t have to anymore.... And it just feels so foreign to me.... This....” I trailed off.

“Peace?”

I nodded.

“You’ll get used to it.” She leaned her head against my shoulder. “Or I’ll have to make you.” She punched my ribs softly as a little reminder that she cared.

I smiled. “Ow! That hurt!” I exclaimed loudly.

Her face hardened but playfully. “Want me to make it hurt?”

I grabbed her around the waist and tackled her to the floor. “I can make it tickle,” I said, smirking.

“Oh no.... Not this again....” I started to tickle her in the grass around the pond. Her laugh was rough from underuse for so long. But it always made me smile.

I stopped tickling her and kissed her. She held my hand and entwined her fingers in mine, smiling into the kiss.

_Later…_

There was a deafening explosion that sounded not too far away.

“Zuko! What’s happening?!” Mai yelled at me over the roar of another explosion. The ceiling above our bed shook and started to fall on us.

I jumped up out of bed, my eyes wide. “Come on!” I yelled back. I grabbed her hand and we ran.

We raced down the corridors of the palace. There was smoke in every direction and we ran, covering our faces and coughing along the way. My vision blurred as the smoke made my eyes tear, but as we approached the palace Entry Hall, the knot in my stomach tightened and my heart raced faster as I realized what was happening when the guards started towards us.

“She’s escaped, sir! She’s here! Five men have been taken down already, your highness.”

“Get everyone out of here!” I managed to yell over yet another deafening roar of the palace crumbling around us.

“But sir!” My most trusted advisor wanted Mai and I to be safe, but lives were at stake.

I gripped his shoulders forcefully. “Go! Now!”

He stared at me for a moment longer, his eyes searching for some kind of weakness to allow him to protect me. He clenched his eyes shut and then asked, “Your mother?”

“She is your main priority! Be sure Uncle is with her. Now move out!”

“Yes sir!” He saluted me as he turned to run away, but stopped for a moment and he mouthed the words I didn’t want to hear. “Be careful.”

I didn’t turn back as we pushed our way through the palace doors and onto the Grand Staircase at the front of the palace.

“Azula.”

_*Nick*_

I walked down a hallway to a small room with a red curtain. When I pushed past the curtain, my breath caught. I saw them standing there, flesh and blood.

The blue arrow on his head glistened, and the necklace around her neck was shimmering in the artificial light of the room around us. The girl with the dark hair was smirking as usual, and the boy with the boomerang was smiling, holding his beloved girlfriend as well. They held their arms open wide, and I raced over to hug them.

It had been a long time since the last time I had a dream as pleasant as this one. I missed Aang and everyone dearly, but for some reason, I couldn’t have dreams about them anymore.

I gently released myself from the hug with tears streaming down my face. I wiped them away quickly, and we smiled at each other, no words passing between us. The usual air of comfort overwhelmed me, and I glowed.

They proceeded with their small gathering. We seemed to silently talk about how things were at the South Pole, school, and the ending of the war. We laughed in a strange silence as time appeared to be on our side for once.

That was when I felt an invisible force taking hold of me. I reached out to my family, but they continued laughing and talking. No one noticed I was being pulled away.

I was dragged behind the curtain at the front of the room. The force released me, but something else was grabbing my wrists.

I looked up and saw a cloaked figure dressed in red from head to toe. The shadowy figure’s face was hidden and I only felt the heat from his skin burn my arms as the person held me.

My kidnapper finally pulled back his hood, and I gasped.

His face was scarred. He had shaggy, black hair. His gold eyes bore down into me and shook me to the core.

“Find me.”

And then I woke up.

_*Zuko*_

Her eyes glowed wildly; they were much more wild than when I last saw her six months ago... but it was same spot... same desire. She shot a lightning bolt at the last guard standing behind her, finishing him off. The silence rung in my ears until I heard Mai bring out her throwing stars behind me.

“Zuzu!” she called to me hysterically. “How nice it is to see you!”

“What are you doing?!” I yelled at her. “You’re killing all of the guards you grew up with! You lived here your whole life!”

She snickered and then it turned into wild laughter. She snorted. “You mean the same guards that betrayed me?!”

“They betrayed you because you betrayed the people! I thought you were getting help!” Back in the prison, there were healers and therapists for her to talk to whenever she needed it, and regardless of her need they would visit at least once a day.

“Killed them all,” she said with a dismissive wave. “They were useless to me.”

I clenched my fist and shook with anger. “How could you?!”

“It’s really simple, Zuzu! It’s the same way you’re useless to me!”

And with that, the end had begun.

Mai and I charged at her head-on with fire being punched from the very fists that had supposedly locked her away. Azula used her blue fire to create jets behind her and she started towards us. She started to send the blue flames our way uncontrollably, and we both managed to dodge the first few attacks, but I was hit in the stomach in the very spot I was burned in six months ago. I screamed in agonizing pain, not recognizing the sound of my own voice. I hit the ground and fell onto my side.

“Zuko!” Mai rushed towards me, first doing a front roll as a blue flame landed in the very spot she was standing in not even seconds before. Another flame shot towards her but she threw three stars at the fireball, slicing it in three places and disintegrating it. She sprinted and finally landed at my side. That’s when my vision began to blur.

“Zuko!” Mai yelled. She turned to Azula. “You’ll pay for that!” she screamed, shooting daggers. She did a front roll as Azula shot a ball of fire. She did a front flip when Azula kicked fire at her.

When I was finally able to get back on my feet, I stood up quickly and started running at Azula. My scar protested, but I pushed on for Mai. Azula and Mai were in hand-to-hand combat and as Azula shoots a flame, Mai pushes her hand out of the way. As she flips her arm behind her back, Azula finds that Mai left the side she was turning towards defenseless.

Azula caught my eye and smiled.

“MAI!”

Mai stopped where she was, her eyes open wide, and she dropped her stars, falling to her knees. Then Azula pulled her hand out from Mai’s shoulder blade, holding one of her throwing stars, covered in blood.

Mai fell.

I raced over, fighting back tears of agonizing pain, forcing myself to keep from going under. Then, I used both of my hands as well as my mouth to send a wall of orange flames at Azula, finally knocking her out.

I stopped for a minute and just stared. I stared at nothing.... Then, without recognizing the feeling, my feet dragged forward toward the pool of red around Mai. I waded through and found myself crumbling at her side. I picked up her head and kissed her blood-stained forehead.

Tears refused to stop pouring down my face. My body didn’t stop shaking. I sat in silence with the lifeless beauty laying in my arms.

The world seemed to lose all air.

My heart was dead.

All emotion was gone but the overwhelming agony. It was no longer the physical pain that hurt.

I kissed her on the lips, hard. Then, I kissed her head, cheeks, neck, and hands repeatedly, wanting some way for me to wake up and to have her raspy, crystal fire voice in my ear.

“It was only a dream, Zuko.”

But it wasn’t.

She was gone.

I stayed like that for hours... maybe longer. Night had already fallen. I touched my lips to hers gently one last time before standing up. At some point, a guard had come and taken Azula away from me. A few tried to speak to me but I never responded.

Finally, I picked her up in my arms and started to walk through the empty palace. It seemed as though everyone was gone. The palace was covered in ash and ruble. I didn’t feel my feet carry me or feel her weight on my arms. I just went where my body took me.

I allowed my body to take us to the palace pond where we played as children all those years ago. I dug a grave for her, and after hours of hard labor, she was buried. I set her favorite flowers on her grave and said a prayer, asking for the great Avatars of the past to watch over her. I stood there just staring at the grave.

I ran.

I ran fast... and far.

I don’t know where my body took me, but when I awoke, I found myself at the shore. I stood up and looked out over the ocean. I looked into the clear, blue water and saw my tattered reflection.

My shirt was ripped on my sleeves and had dark red patches of blood everywhere. The place where I was burned for a second time was torn open, and a gaping wound showed things that no one should ever have to see. My face was black with dirt and my lips were stained dark red. I cupped some water in my hands and splashed it over my face. The water didn’t give me any feeling back.

I stood up again and looked out at the sunrise on the horizon. The wind blew my blood-stained hair out of my eyes and I felt the warmth of the sun on my face without truly embracing it.

Then jumped into the water. It felt cold against my skin, but I didn’t care. I couldn’t really feel anything.

I swam. I swam hard and didn’t care how much my body ached. I didn’t feel anything anymore.

And then my body gave up.

I was going under.

I choked on the water that began to fill my lungs. I gripped at my throat, trying to somehow get the water out.

Nothing worked, and I was going further into the darkness of the depths of the ocean.

If this is it, then I can see Mai again.

To see her, I will happily go under.

That’s when a thought occurred to me. After everything I had done and all the pain and suffering I had caused, I wondered if I would go to the same place Mai was….

But I didn’t have any more time than that to ponder it because everything went black.

_*Nick*_

I woke up and stretched, looking at my clock. For the first time in ages, I got lucky. It was only about eight. I had some time to myself for the first time in months. My sister would still be asleep, and my mom and step-dad were snoring in bed downstairs.

I decided to use my time to watch some reruns that I never got to watch anymore. I fed my cat, Kya and turned on the T.V. I realized that I haven’t recorded an episode since two years ago. My feet miserably drag me back to my room and I use what few episodes on my iPod that I had. I decided on “Zuko Alone.”

When the “Previously... On Avatar...” is done, I realize what was so important to me about the episode. I turn it off, feeling the tears come, and watch “The Waterbending Scroll” instead.

Toward the end of the episode, Katara is attempting to learn the Waterwhip, but the stream of water drops to the ground. Then, she hears metal grinding, and she runs to some bushes. When she parts them, she sees Zuko’s ship on the beach. She turns to run away, but a pirate grabs her.

“No, let go of me!”

She creates another attempt at a Waterwhip and smacks the pirate in the face. He releases her, but then she runs right into Zuko, and he grabs her wrists.

“I’ll save you from the pirates.”

My breath catches in my throat as I try to breathe. I pause the episode as the scene cuts to black. I got an overwhelming feeling of Déjà Vu, and I try to think back to at time when something like that happened to me.

Then, it hits me… the dream I had.

I sit there completely stunned by the similarity of the dream and the episode. It was almost the same, but instead it was me… he was talking to me. Katara was in the other room in the dream. And not only that but what he said was totally different.

“Find me.”

The words seemed to haunt me. I felt like they meant something, but I shook my head. I was just missing the show too much.

I flipped through my iPod quickly, and watched “Zuko Alone.” As I remembered how alike Zuko and I were, I shuddered.

A tear comes to my eye when I realize that I misjudged his character by a long shot when I had first watched the show. I thought that he just didn’t handle his emotions right, but when I finished watching the episode, I realized the little details of the episode that showed that Zuko was good all along.

But what was making me curious was that very connection that I continuously denied the entire show. I thought I was the most similar to Katara, and all of my friends always said how motherly I am and how much I reminded them of her.

But if I stopped to think, Zuko and Katara aren’t all that different.

As I allowed my curiosity to get the better of me, I couldn’t help but wonder about Zuko’s past... and mine.

Maybe we were a lot alike.

That was when, a loud noise completely brought me out of my thoughts. It sounded like it came from outside, but I couldn’t be sure.

I quickly put my iPod away and ran out of my room. From the sound of it, the noise hadn’t woken up my parents or my sister... or even the dog.

I grabbed my jacket from the railing and flew down the steps. I skipped the last few and landed on the bottom with a thump. It proved my theory of silence correct because still, no one made a sound. I decided not to test it further and ran out the back door.

The morning air was crisp on my skin and I looked up at the still-rising sun. It sent warm chills down my spine and looked around to find the source of the noise. The water in the pool was moving, and I stared at it cautiously. I wondered why it would be stirred or what could have made the entire in-ground pool suddenly move. I slowly made my way up the steps that led to the pool area and opened the gate. I took a deep breath and looked into the pool.

And what I saw... both scared me half to death and made my heart leap.

Floating in the deep end, I see a person dressed in red from head to toe. His hair appears to be black, and he has bandages around his chest. Then, I realize he isn’t moving.

I took off my jacket, sneakers, socks and I pulled my hair back. I took a deep breath and jumped in. The water was cool but not completely freezing.

I pushed my way across the pool, seeing the rays of the sun shine on the mystery person’s face. There seemed to be a blotch of blood on his face, but it was hard to tell what he looked like in the water. I tried not to think about why he would be in my backyard but rather try to focus on saving him. I finally reach him and I grab his arm and pull it over my shoulders.

I did exactly as I was taught to do by my parents, and I pulled his arm behind me, keeping his head above the water. I pulled him into the shallow end of the pool, and I sit him gently on the steps. I laid his head against the side of the pool.

I gasped in shock.

The face... is that of someone I knew I’d never be able to meet.

I shiver from both the cool air and the sight of his face. Not only is it really him, but something else worries me.

His face has a cut with dried blood, and his chest is completely red. The scar burned across his face seemed to be the least of his problems.


	2. Life

Chapter Two: Life

_*Nick*_

Adrenaline has always been something heard and not seen. I had heard how when people are under a lot of stress or pain, that’s what pulls them through. There’s been miraculous stories of how people lift trucks to save someone they love. There have been stories of people in pain that should have killed them, but somehow, they lived through it to tell the tale.

You don’t feel it. Your body allows instinct to take over your thoughts, actions, and emotions. And when I saw him there in the water... that’s exactly what happened.

I don’t remember how, but all I know is that... well... I guess it was my crazy obsession with Avatar. I never was crazy about him. But for some reason, I pitied him.

The next thing I was consciously aware of was that he somehow ended up on the couch in my room. I laid him there and gave him an ice cold towel to put on his head. I did the best I could with cleaning the gash on his stomach, but I had to put tons of blankets on the couch so as not to get it soaked in blood. When the bleeding finally stopped, I put more gauze on his stomach and set an old tee shirt to wear on the couch while I washed his robes. His pants were drenched in blood and chlorine water, but for now I left them on him; I laid a pair of sweatpants on the couch that were my step-dad’s for when he woke up. I made him a cup of tea and put it on my desk. After that, I just sat on the floor next to the couch in silence, hoping my sister wouldn’t wake up early. I grabbed another towel and soaked it in hot water to wash the blood out of his hair.

I didn’t pay attention to washing the blood but instead I just stared at him as he took shallow, uneven breaths.

I sighed and shook my head to myself. I didn’t know what else to do.

Another two hours later, I woke up. I looked around, not remembering how I ended up asleep. I felt something light on my head, and I was laying on something warm. I tensed as I slowly realized I had fallen asleep on his chest after cleaning the blood off. I gently reach up, and take his hand that was resting on my head. I looked at his exhausted, pained expression and my stomach turned. His heartbeat was loud, and his blood was pulsing furiously. He was alive, if only barely.

_*Zuko*_

“ _MAI!_ ” I screamed. Her mangled body was on the floor. I shook her shoulders, trying fruitlessly to wake her up.

_“MAI!”_

I was in the water again... losing consciousness. I felt the water begin to flow into my lungs, engulfing my entire body. I felt the stabbing pain in my chest as I tried to choke it out, but it’s no use. My eyes started to close when I faintly heard a splash. I catch a glimpse of a small figure, but then everything went black.

I finally woke up and saw nothing but red. It was like swimming in my own pool of blood.

I started choking and sputtering again. I continuously coughed with my eyes closed. But then I sat up, trying not to be hurt any further. I clenched my eyes tighter, and I choked until I felt blood come up into my throat. I spit it out and laid back down. I groaned and tried to open my eyes this time.

My vision was blurry, so I tried to open them slowly. I looked up and saw a white ceiling.

Then I saw a girl.

“Ah!” I shot up and wildly threw a ball of fire at her head with my fist. The girl screamed and jumped backward, but the force of the blast knocked her against the wall behind her. She slowly sat up and as she held up her hands.

“I didn’t mean to startle you! I was trying to help you!” Her hands are slightly red but her face is fine.

“Who are you?!” I shouted at her. My voice cracked and sounded so weak that I sounded pathetic. I tried to get up, but I quickly fell down, landing on a blue carpet.

“Please! I’ve been taking care of you. Let me help you.” she pleaded.

I scoffed. “I don’t need it!” I pushed my hands down hard on the unfamiliar floor and struggled to get into a fighting stance. I groaned as I pushed myself up and I gripped my stomach with one arm. “I am Firelord Zuko of the Fire Nation!” I managed to choke out. “I do not require help!” The effort to get up and sound intimidating was draining me. I took a shaky breath.

“You’re in pain,” she said. “I just want to help you....” Her voice was soft and soothing. But I shook it off, not recognizing her.

“Who are you working for?! Are you helping Azula?!” I demanded, panting.

“No! Never! I’m on your side! Honest!” she sputtered. “Please, I don’t want you to hurt yourself any more than you already have.” She eyes my stomach again. I looked down and pulled my hand away, noticing the bandages. They’d been replaced and tended to.

I narrowed my eyes. “Prove it.”

“I... how? I’m not from....” she trailed off as she tried to think. “What do you need to prove I’m on your side?”

“You’re lying!” I kicked two more fireballs in her direction, but she dodged them with a front roll. They disintegrated before hitting the wall. I fell over then from the force of the blast.

“Please stop! I thought you had changed!” she screamed at me, dodging another blow.

I stopped.

“Katara?”

She looked up at me, slightly out of breath. “Not quite....” she smiled at the comment.

I raised my eyebrows at her. My vision was clearing up after I had finally stopped yelling and attacking her. I could see that her hair was brown, but it was a much lighter color than Katara’s, and her skin tone was slightly lighter too. Her eyes were blue, just like hers and her voice sounded similar. But it wasn’t Katara.

“What are you talking about? Who are you?”

“I’m a big fan of yours and hers,” she said slowly. “I loved your show.” she said, shaking her head.

“Show? You mean the play about us?”

She furrowed her eyebrows at me before shaking her head again, as if remembering. She chuckled. “No…. God no….” She stood up and looked at me gently. She slowly held out her hand to me as if being cautious of another fireball. I took her small hand and she helped me up onto the couch. I leaned back, my head resting on the back of it. She sat beside me and didn’t say anything for a minute.

“Who are you?” I asked again. “Where am I?”

“My name is Nicolette. Nicolette Mente. But you can just call me Nick.” She smiled at me before continuing. “You’re in a place called ‘Earth’.”

I looked around at the room. There was technology I had never seen before… finishes on the furniture that were completely unfamiliar… paintings on the wall that looked too good to be done by hand.

“I’m not in the world of the Avatar anymore… am I?” I asked slowly.

“No.” She furrowed her eyebrows, shaking her head at me. “This is so unreal.... Come with me...please?” She looked straight into my eyes, pleadingly.

Maybe it was those blue eyes that made my heart ache for my friends. Maybe it was my helplessness. But I found myself agreeing.

She told me to put on the clothes she left for me on the couch first. She left the room and I struggled to pull them on but finally managed after a few minutes. I opened the door and followed her.

There was a big black thing at the front of the room.

“What is that?” I asked.

“This is called a television. Also known as a T.V.” She smiled at me again, her eyes bright, but worn.

I tried not to notice how tired she seemed and looked away. “What does it do?”

“I’ll show you.” She pressed a button on a small little rectangle thing in her hand, and it made a few noises and then I saw images of people in it.

My eyes widened. “How does that work?” I walked up to it and touched the faces of the people it was displaying.

“Let me just show you something, and then you can ask all the questions you want. Deal?”

I looked back at her. “I’ll consider it....”

“Sit,” she said, patting the bed next to her.

I wanted to protest, but the effort of standing up was starting to weigh down on me. I walked over slowly and groaned as I sat down.

“Okay....” She pressed a few more buttons and then said, “Watch this.”

The ‘T.V.’ started talking with the voice of Katara. We watched together for a few moments as Katara told the story of how she met Aang. My breath caught as it showed my world… my home.

“That’s all you have to see.” She did something with the triangle and the image stopped on something. “It says, ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender.’”

I leaned back and looked at her again. I stared for a minute before asking the question burning in my mind then. “So you know everything about me?”

“Yeah… I do.” She paused for a second before adding, “Or… at least I thought I did.”

And as I looked at her clothing, the odd room, the weird black thing, and my other surroundings, I finally felt really afraid.

“So... this isn’t the Fire Nation... Is it?”

“Here,” she said choosing her words carefully, “it doesn’t exist.”

“That’s impossible!” I said, sitting upright again. The girl’s body tensed but didn’t show her nervousness in her face. I took a deep breath.

Her body relaxed a bit. “You see that scribble?” she asked pointing at the T.V. again. “It also says, ‘created by Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko.’ They are the ones who created all of it. It’s a fictional story... a made up world.”

“But... I’m here, aren’t I?”

“It’s not every day that a character lands in your swimming pool,” she said with a slight eye roll.

I sighed, and I finally realized that I was never going back. I looked down at my feet and saw the clothing similar to that of the girl’s.

“What is this stuff?” I said, gripping the fabric of the shirt. It was softer and less itchy than my robes.

“Part of your new wardrobe. Do you want me to brief you on how things work around here?” She smirked, her eyes still glowing despite her obvious exhaustion.

“That would be nice.” I said with a sigh. I allowed myself a small smile.

She stood up and motioned for me to follow her. She pointed to the toilet in the bathroom. I sat down and she took a towel and wet it with water before coming towards me.

“I need to clean out those gashes.” she said, cocking her lips to the side.

“It’s not that bad. I’ve been through worse.”

“Have you looked in the mirror yet?”

I stood up slowly, wincing in pain. The girl grabbed my upper arm to hold me upright. My eyes widened and I looked down at her, concern etched across her face.

“I’m fine,” I say, trying to stand. I take a deep breath and stand, looking into the mirror.

My lips are cut badly, dried blood covering them. I lifted my shirt to see the bandages on my chest are nearly soaked through with red, and my arms are covered in burns. My jaw actually dropped.

“No you’re not.” She said. Nick helped me sit back down as I winced. She took care to remove the bandages slowly and cleaned out the gashes on my chest. After that mess was taken care of, she kneeled on the floor in front of me. She took the wet towel and rubbed it gently on my lips. She didn’t look up at me, but I watched her as she worked. I guessed her age to be around 15, and her eyes just brought me back to that day that I earned Katara’s trust.

She looked up at me and we locked eyes for a second.

“I’m sorry.” I said with a cough. “I didn’t mean to stare.”

“It’s fine.” She continued patting my chin and lip. “You must miss everyone back home.”

My breath caught.

She noticed and looked up at me. “It’s alright. You don’t have to tell me.” She smiled again. “I’ll help you. Whatever you need. I promise.”

I just stared into her eyes for a minute. I wondered how she had earned my trust so easily.

But then I realized why. I was in a new world with no friends, family or home. I didn’t have anything. I needed someone. I needed her.

“Thank you.”

She gave me a small tour of her home. She showed me what a “cat” was. Not a cat-boar, or a cat-goat, or even a catfish. Just... a cat. When we were done with “the basics,” she told me that I was okay for now.

“Now comes the harder part.”

“And that is...?”

“My family.”

“Aren’t they always difficult?” At first she bit her lip, but then I smiled and she realized it was a joke.

“Well... my sister may not be able to keep your secret... but my mom and step-dad will wonder where you came from.”

“Your step-dad?” I asked, cocking an eyebrow at her.

“Yeah... He’s nice, though.”

 “Where’s your father?”

“Another thing you and I have in common.” And then she turned away. “Come on. I have some things I want to show you.”

She took me back into her bedroom and pointed to the well-drawn picture of a man with the same face as her.

“Who drew that?” I looked at it in awe.

“A camera. It snaps pictures of things in two seconds. Another machine.”

I raised my eyebrows at her, impressed. I picked up the frame, gently, and I brushed my hand across his face. Nick looked at me, smiled, and then looked back at the picture.

“That’s my dad.” she said.

“He was very handsome,” I told her. I meant it too. He had the same peculiar hair… eyes… and smile.

“Thank you.”

“You look exactly like him.”

She beamed. “My favorite compliment.” She gently touched the gold necklace she wore. It had a badge on it.

“What is that?”

“It’s a badge. It means he... was a fireman.”

“A what?” I asked. “I thought you said my world didn’t exist here.”

“No,” she said laughing a little. “Not a firebender. Just the opposite in fact. A fireman is someone who fights fires when buildings or other places catch on fire. He was like a Waterbender in that way, I guess.” I looked down, toying with the badge in her fingers.

I set the picture down. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean-”

“It’s alright. I’m fine.” She gave me a half smile. “He’s in here.” She pointed to her heart.

I smiled gently at her.

She walked over to the couch and picked up the towels and gauze from my mess earlier. “Why don’t we get to know each other a bit?” She said. “You ask me a question, and I’ll ask you one.”

“How old are you?” I immediately said.

“Fourteen.”

“You’re only fourteen? How did you carry me to your room?”

“Don’t ask me because honestly, I have no idea.” She shrugged, but from the way she hesitated gave away that it bothered her. “How old are you?”

“Seventeen. What’s your... favorite thing to do?”

“Have fun with my friends.” she said. “That one’s easy. How and did you find your mom?”

“I traveled to the Earth Kingdom and I found her there as a palace servant with no memory of me.” As I spoke, her eyes widened. “It was the Dai Li. Weapon of choice?”

She shook her head, seemingly baffled by my answer. “My own strength.” She paused because she saw me do a double take. “I’ve done ninjutsu a few years. If that doesn’t work, then a bow and arrows will do. What do you do for fun?”

“Firebend.”

“Of course,” she said smirking.

I narrowed my eyes at her. “You would too if you could bend. It’s like a release of your inner emotions. It’s like an extension of yourself.”

“I’ve always wanted to bend... or something, at least. It sounds incredible.”

“It is, believe me.... What’s your daily routine like?”

“I get up, get ready, go to school-”

“Go to school? Aren’t you a little old for that?” I asked, cutting her off. School usually ended around age twelve or thirteen.

“Aren’t you a little young to not go to school?” she shot back.

I shook my head. “What do you mean?”

“In this world, no one bends and no kids have to take care of the family. We go to school to learn and then get better jobs.”

“How long do you go for then?”

“From age five to age eighteen.” she continued. “If you started now though, you’d have a lot of catching up to do.”

“Well, I know your language,” I said.

“Just not reading or writing it,” she said.

“I can read and write,” I protested.

“In Chinese.” she added. I raised an eyebrow at her. “It’s not the same language.”

“I don’t understand.”

 “Of course not,” she said. She laughed at me again and I folded my arms across my chest. “My turn. What do you do in the palace?”

“Have breakfast in the dining hall, direct orders to the military, visit the town, help rebuild nearby villages, and then I go home and do whatever I feel like.”

“Lucky. I get work to bring home.”

“Okay... Let’s see...” I scratched my chin in thought. Then something occurred to me. “Who’s your favorite character on the show?”

“Hmm... I’d have to say Katara.”

I smirked but then I raised an eyebrow. “Should I be offended?”

She laughed, whole heartedly. “Only in the beginning though. She got too motherly toward the end of it. But I definitely could relate in her in ‘The Southern Raiders.’”

“I would imagine so....” I trailed off. I couldn’t imagine losing my Uncle or Mom now that I have them. I didn’t dare think about...

“How did you get so hurt?” she asked, jarring me from my thoughts.

_Mai._

I sighed and shrugged. “It’s in the past.” I hoped she didn’t suspect anything from the shakiness of my voice. If I talked to her about it....

“Sorry, I didn’t mean….” She trailed off and started over. “I just want to help you.” she smiled softly, and it pained me to hide it.... All of my pent up anger from over the years was released when I realized what it was actually from, when I had finally faced my father, told him I was leaving. Then I took down Azula… and then the second time….

Maybe this time, I should just... let it go.

So I told her. I told her all of it.

From when I woke up that morning, to waking up on her couch.

When I finished, I took a shaky breath, still trying to fight back the torment in my head.

She was silent for a while before she finally spoke. “Zuko... I’m so sorry.” She looked near-tears.

“I just don’t understand it. Every time I try to be good… something bad always happens in the end.”

“That’s not true.” she placed her right hand over mine and looked into my eyes.

“Look at how I ended up. I tried killing myself.” I said. I looked down, utterly ashamed. “But I’m glad I didn’t.” I looked at her. “Now I might have made a friend.”

She gave me a small smile. “Of course. I’ll be here for you.” She placed her other hand under mine but pulled back with a hissing noise.

“What’s wrong?”

“My hand….” I saw her shake her hand out.

“I’m so sorry….” I shook my head. “I just didn’t know who you were or if I could trust you after all of that.”

“It’s fine, Zuko.” she said calmly. Something about the way she said my name was strained. As if it didn’t sit right on her tongue. “I understand. You were scared. Besides, I’ve dealt with worse.” She waved her other hand dismissively at me, and I sat there watching her for a minute.

“Nick! Breakfast is ready!” I heard a female voice from outside the bedroom.

“Okay, to my parents, your name is...” she trailed off, looking around the room before finally settling. “Ash... Kaen. And you went to camp with me. Got it?”

“Ash Kaen.” I mimicked. It sounded foreign to me but it made sense. “Camp. Got it.”


	3. Fun

Chapter Three: Fun

_*Nick*_

Since it was a Saturday afternoon, and one teenage boy was to start his first day of high school, you can guess what the outcome would be.

“This looks perfect!” I squealed, taking in Zuko’s new look. We had gone to the mall to shop for his new wardrobe.

“Are you sure?” he asked, looking at the tight, black shirt he wore.

“You look awesome!”

“What about the pants, though?” he said, staring at the jeans.

“It looks great!”

“But the shoes are okay too, right? I mean, they’re so comfortable compared to what I’m used to.” Zuko met Converse for the first time.

I laughed at his reactions to the clothes I chose for him, but he didn’t seem to mind. He would just nod and smile at whatever clothes I threw at him. Afterward, he thanked me for buying everything for him and I dismissed him.

“Friends go shopping together all the time. No need to worry.”

He smiled.

The next day, we walked into my high school together, decked out in our new clothes. I walked him into the main office and he got his schedule and his locker, which was next to mine for simplicity’s sake. Once we left, we walked side by side to our lockers.

“So this is your school, huh?” he said, looking at the kids. He was a head and a half taller than most of the freshman and even some upperclassmen.

“Yup. Just remember your cover.”

“Right.” Which, his cover was that his name is Ash Kaen, my cousin who moved in with us after his parents were killed in a car crash. We said he was one of the older ones in the grade and his parents started him early. He also lived in Tokyo most of his life, so American customs were hard to remember for him.

As we walked, I noticed how not one, not a lot, but _every_ kid we passed by in the hallway was looking our way, staring at Zuko. There were only a small amount of kids there already, being that we were there earlier than usual. The kids to our right giggled and whispered after seeing him. The ones to our left covered their mouths and occasionally pointed at him. I swallowed hard and hoped no one recognized him. I thought that maybe people would just be in disbelief.

When we got to our lockers, I put my things away and then helped him set up his locker. There was still about a half hour before the day would start, so I decided to brief him some more on my friends.

“Okay, so let me tell you about Mei, first.” When he had first heard her name, I noticed the way he tensed, but we both tried to ignore the irony. “Mei is one of my best friends, but she knows who you are. I’m going to explain everything to her, so if there’s something wrong and you can’t find me, you go straight to her.”

“Okay. Is she nice?”

“Well, let me put it this way: all of my friends are ‘nice,’ but not necessarily _normal_ when compared to the average kid.”

“Okay....” he said slowly.

“You’ll see what I’m talking about.” I said. “Mei is tall, with the long brown hair and blue eyes. She’s stick skinny, perfect skin. You can’t miss her.” I sighed. “Then we have Lily. She’s a total sweetheart, but she doesn’t know who you really are. She’s even shorter than me, frizzy brown hair, brown eyes.”

“Okay. Cool,” he said, straightening his black leather jacket that I bought for him.

“Then there’s Cody. He knows who you are, but I need to tell him about you first. He has shaggy blond hair, blue-green eyes. About my height.”

“Alright,” he replied, watching teachers walk around. I started to walk him around and as I talked, I pointed out some important places.

“The gym is here. Cody and I have known each other for ages. The rest of the gang we just met within the last year or two. Mike is one of Cody’s best friends, but he’s a really good friend of mine too. This is the lunch room.”

He nodded.

“Mike is also going out with Lily. He has the long, shaggy brown hair, covering his ears, deep brown eyes, stocky.” Zuko nodded again, watching everything around him. “Don’t get scared, but I have a feeling Mei might... think you’re cute.”

“That could be... interesting,” he said with a smirk. I raised an eyebrow at him.

I quickly changed the subject. “And one more thing,” I said, taking out the black sunglasses I bought for him at the mall. I slid them onto his face. “You were in the accident that your parents died in and got burned on your face from it. The less kids that see the scar, the better. A few kids besides Mei, Cody and I have seen the show, so you have to be careful, and make sure that you keep these on, and don’t blow your cover.”

“I think I can handle it.” He smiled at me. We knew that we couldn’t be together in some classes, so we decided to stay together while we could. My mom told the school that I needed to be Ash’s guide because he was really nervous. Most of them were higher level classes, but he had to take English, Science and History by himself.

A few minutes later, kids were starting to be let into the building, and Zuko and I walked back to our lockers. Mei’s locker was on the other side of Zuko’s, so she’d be the first to see him.

“Hey Mei!” I said, nervously. I had no idea how she’d react to him.

“Hey Nick, you’ll never guess-” she cut herself off, eyeing Zuko. “Uh...” She looked from me to him, raising an eyebrow.

“Oh! Mei, this is Ash. Ash Kaen. He’s my cousin from Japan. He just moved in with me.” She looked skeptical for my not to tell her something so important but I kept talking. “Ash, this is Mei.”

“I - uh...” she stuttered, looking him up and down.

“Hi, there,” Zuko said, holding his hand out to her. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.” She took his hand hesitantly and he gave her hand a gentle squeeze. They looked at each other for a long moment.

“Mei, can I explain everything else to you, now?” She nodded her head, but she didn’t take her eyes off of him. “We’ll be right back.” I pulled her around the corner and she shot me an aggravated look.

“Nick... _explain_. _Now_.” Whenever something weird happened with us... that tended to be the reaction I got from her. “Why didn’t you tell me you had a cousin like _that_?” she asked, peeking around the corner.

“Because I don’t,” I said, quietly. She raised her eyebrows at me. “That’s not my cousin.”

She shook her head. “Wait…. Well then who is he?”

“I found him. I don’t know how or why, but somehow he ended up in my backyard.”

She closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. “So you’re telling me you found some strange guy in your backyard, brought him in, called him your cousin, and dragged him to school? Nick, what is wrong with you?”

“Look at him again.” I said.

She turned the corner, and he lowered his sunglasses. Mei’s eyes widened and she looked back at me, pointing to him. “That looks like -” she stopped herself when she saw me nodding. Her jaw dropped. “How is that possible?”

I continued explaining the story, leaving out the hospital and Azula, but I’d give her the details later. I did tell her his cover story, though.

“I... I can’t... believe it….” She turned back around the corner to Zuko. He pulled his glasses down again. She reached her hand out slowly to touch the burn, and she gently brushed it with the tip of her fingers. “It’s so cold…. Even after all these years...?”

“Pretty much,” he said, shrugging. He smiled at her, as they were almost eye level.

“You sound like-”

“Yup. That was something I got to keep.” He said with a smirk.

I laughed and told her I explained to him why he shouldn’t be here.

She blinked and then recovered. “Who else knows about this?”

“Just you.” Zuko said. “Nick is going to explain it to Cody, too.”

“Of course,” she said rolling her eyes. Zuko looked like he was about to ask another question, but Mei held up a hand. “Nothing.”

“We’re just going to tell everyone else the cover story,” I continued. “The only people who know, and ever will know are you, me, and Cody.”

“What about classes and stuff? Doesn’t he need to catch up?”

“Well, he knows enough math. Some classes he’ll have with us, others he won’t.”

“I still don’t believe it, though.” She shook her head again.

“I can prove it.” I pulled back my sweatshirt’s sleeve, revealing the burn that Zuko gave me. Mei gasped again. “This was my, ‘Nice to meet you,’ gift from Zuko.”

She gaped at the wound and looked back to Zuko, narrowing her eyes. She looked back to me. “Are you okay?”

“Actually, she was.” Zuko explained. “I was pretty surprised myself. It has to be at least a second degree burn.”

Mei shook her head at me. “So what about language?”

“He’s taking lower level classes for it. He knows English, but he can only read and write in Chinese calligraphy, remember?”

“This is so weird....”

“And he’s going to be taking sign language with me. That shouldn’t be too hard to catch him up.”

“That’s true.” she said. She checked the time on her phone. “I gotta get to Italian. See you next period,” she said, glancing at Zuko again. He held up a hand in a waving gesture. She blushed and turned on her heels, taking off down the hallway.

“And we’re in here,” I said, pointing to our room. He paused slightly at the door as I held it open, but he eventually walked in.

I pointed to two desks at the front and we took our seats at the front of the room. Behind me, Lily was there.

“I’m her cousin,” he said, introducing himself. “My name’s Ash.”

“She never told me she had a cousin from Japan….” she said, glaring at me. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“It must’ve slipped my mind,” I said, shrugging. “Sorry.”

She sighed and flipped her hair back over her shoulder.

“Okay, class.” Mrs. Connor – our teacher – said loudly. “Today we have a new student! Would you like to stand at the front of the room and introduce yourself?” she said, pointing to the front.

“Certainly.” he said, standing and turning to face the room. He took a breath before speaking. “My name is Ash Kaen, and I am from Japan. Nicolette is my cousin.” He paused, looking to me for guidance. “And I’ll be here for a while.”

I knew that things would never be the same.

_*Zuko*_

“So how was History?” Nick asked me as we shut our lockers. We were walking to lunch with Lily and Mei.

“It was… kind of interesting.” The only stuff I really knew about before coming here was the cycle of the Avatar and the history of my own country. It was strange to learn about a world without bending.

We arrived at the cafeteria, and everyone sat down at the table. Nick patted the bench to her left, so I sat down between her and Mei. Mei begged me to explain the rest of the story in a hushed surge of excitement, but then two boys sat down across from Nick and Lily. They just stared at me for a minute.

The boy with the dark hair and eyes cocked and eyebrow at Nick. The other one with blond hair, freckles, and blue-green eyes just stared at me.

“Mike, Cody… this is Ash Kaen. He’s my cousin from Japan. He’s going to be going to school with us for a while.”

“Nice to meet you.” I held out a hand to Mike, and he shook my hand firmly. He nodded to me. Then, I held out my hand to Cody, but he just kept staring at me.

“It’s nice to meet you, Cody,” I said, smiling.

Then he finally smiled back. “Nice to meet you.”

We started opening our lunches, and I pulled out a square-shaped piece of food. I looked at it for a second and then bit it. I sighed into my chewing and Nick elbowed me lightly.

“So you like peanut butter and jelly?” she whispered. I nodded.

“I got it,” Mei said, taking a napkin to my face stuffed with food. She wiped my mouth off for me. For some reason, I tensed up and pulled away from her.

That was when I remembered Mai again. No, she doesn’t look like Mai. No, she doesn’t sound like Mai. And no, she didn’t even act like Mai. But the name Mei or Mai, was what pained me to look at her.

I just kept eating, listening to the conversations with my head down.

“Do you remember when he was standing there at the edge of the cliff? He was like, ‘Hey, guys! Where’s Cody?’ And then all of a sudden you come flying in with the jeep and he turns and looks at you, and he’s like, ‘oh!’ and then you land on top of him!” Both of the boys started laughing.

“Video games,” Lily said, shaking her head. Cody wasn’t laughing too hard. He just sat there, playing with his food. Nick leaned toward me and whispered to Mei and I.

“Hey, did you notice how Cody hasn’t been acting like himself?” She looked at me. “I’m worried about him.”

“Maybe he’s jealous of Zuko….” Mei said with a smirk on her face. “After all, he is another _boy_ living with you.”

“Mei!” she hissed at her.

“Did I do something wrong?” I asked.

“No! Not at all!” Mei exclaimed. She leaned close to me. “She just thinks Cody is upset because he’s jealous of you.”

I raised an eyebrow at her. “Why would he be jealous of me?”

“Because you get to spend all the time you want with precious Nicolette,” Mei said, smirking.

“Shut up, Mei!” Nick said, looking over her shoulder at Cody. “Cody?”

The blonde haired boy looked up. “Yeah?”

“Can I talk to you for a minute?”

He nodded and she tilted her head toward the door. They walked out, leaving Lily, Mike, Mei and I at the table.

“So, _Ash_ ,” she said, emphasizing the name, “You’re living with Nick now, right?”

“Yeah,” I said, not looking at her. “Her family is nice.”

“Yeah, they are....” Her sentence lingered as she suddenly felt my change in mood. Lily started to pick up a conversation with Mike, and I didn’t dare look at Mei.

“Um... Hey,” Mei said, tapping me gently on the shoulder, “is there something Nick didn’t tell me yet that would explain... well... why you won’t even look at me?”

I finally looked her in the eyes. The concern was etched on her face.

“Mai... Not you, but....” I stopped, not knowing what to tell her.

“What about her?”

“Azula....” I said, slowly and quietly. “She... broke into the palace....” I turned my head away again.

“Zuko.... I’m so sorry.” There was silence between us for a minute. “Do you need... a hug?” I looked up at her, and she looked back at me. Her face turned pink. “I just... wanted to make you feel better.... It’s stupid-” she tried to talk, but I cut her off and hugged her, tightly. For a minute, she didn’t respond and just sat there numbly. Then she hugged me back. “I’m so sorry.” she whispered.

I just sat there, hugging some girl I had just met. I didn’t know her at all, but as I embraced her tighter, I knew I needed this. I needed to heal. I needed to feel the pain.

I needed to feel _something_ again.

I gently let go, and Mei did the same. I realized she was tearing up. “I’m sorry...I just feel so bad for you.”

I gently wiped my hand across her cheek taking the tear away. “Thank you.”

She smiled at me, and I smiled back. I heard a cough behind me and looked over to see Mike and Lily watching us. Mei turned to them. “ _What?”_

Then, Cody and Nick walked back into the room.

“What did you say to him?” Lily asked Nick immediately as she sat down. She dismissed her.

Something in her reaction to Lily struck me as familiar. I looked down at my half-eaten sandwich and narrowed my eyes as I tried to remember the feeling. And all at once, I realized what was so important that I had forgotten.

What happened to my world?

Where was Azula?


	4. Believe

Chapter Four: Believe

_*Nick*_

Mei, Nick, Cody, Mike, Lily and I all walked to class together. Nick and Cody walked together, Lily and Mike walked together, and Mei and I picked up a conversation.

“You have?” Mei exclaimed.

“Of course! If you were a master firebender, wouldn’t you start your own academy?”

“I personally prefer waterbending, but that’s just me,” she replied with a smirk.

“Oh really?” I said, smiling. “Well maybe if I taught you some moves... if you’d like?”

“Maybe I can finally take Nick in a fight,” she said excitedly. She looked over to where Nick and Cody were talking.

I found it strange that she would want to fight Nick in a world that didn’t have bending or any kind of duel style anymore. But I thought back to the first time I met her, and she was able to dodge all of my attacks pretty easily. I wonder how a normal girl could have trained. She mentioned taking some classes in self-defense, but I wondered why she was involved with it in the first place.

_*Nick*_

“So... we have to do _all_ of this before school tomorrow?” Zuko asked me as we walked. We had already dropped off Mei, Lily, Mike and Cody at their houses, and we were almost home.

“Yup. It’s not fun, but if you want to keep up the grades, you don’t have much of a choice.”

“Well... maybe we can do something else first. Do you want to learn some fighting techniques?”

My eyes widened. “Yeah! I’d love to! That would be so great! Thank-” But I didn’t finish my sentence because I had just noticed that the person following us had been for a few blocks. I coughed to keep up the conversation and added “you.”

Zuko gave me a confused looked and I looked over my shoulder. That was my mistake because when Zuko looked too, the man realized he had lost the element of surprise and charged at us. Before I could blink, I was being lifted up into the air in a choke hold.

I acted on the perfect combination of instinct and what I’d been taught to do. I turned my neck to the left to keep breathing and kicked as hard as I could in the groin of the man holding me. He released, and he doubled back in pain as I fell to the ground.

Zuko ran at the attacker and roundhouse kicked him in the ribs. The sound of the crack rang out and the man was left on the floor and holding his side. Then he took the opportunity to kick him in the back of the head, knocking him out.

Zuko walked over to me and held out a hand. “You okay?” He gently pulled me to my feet and I staggered a little. When I started to fall over, Zuko caught me in his arms, and I just stayed there for a moment longer.

“Yeah…. I can’t believe that just happened.” I looked around briefly for my backpack that had fallen off when the man grabbed me. I dug through it and found my cell phone. I called 9-1-1 and told them what had happened.

Zuko kept one arm around me the whole time, looking out for anymore danger. When I pulled back from him, I felt something on my hand and noticed the blood; his wound had started bleeding again. “We have to get back home.” I said, looking down at the man. “But I don’t want questionings from the police about that.”

So Zuko and I struggled to walk back, and I tried to support his weight the best I could with what little energy I had left in me.

_*Zuko*_

After we had finally made it back, Nick wrapped up my stomach to stop some of the bleeding, and we sat in her room thinking.

“We have to do something,” I said after half an hour of silence.

“What are you talking about? Those guys were just thugs.... I guess.” She seemed to have a worried look in her eye as she spoke. “Just because this hasn’t happened anywhere around here before-”

“Hold up. This hasn’t happened around here before?”

“No. Never. Not as far as I can remember at least. It’s always been really quiet around here. That is, until you showed up.” Then she narrowed her eyes. “Zuko... can I ask you something?”

“Shoot.”

“Why didn’t you bend in that fight?”

I smiled. “I didn’t want to burn him. It would look strange in a fight in this world, don’t you think?”

“True.” she replied with a nod. “You’re smarter than you look.” she added with a smirk.

I opened my hand to make a flame and smiled, my hand hot as always.

Nick was staring at my hand when her jaw dropped.

I traced her gaze to my hand.

There was no flame.

_*Nick*_

When we finished summing up what had happened, we finally moved on to finishing our homework. It wasn’t easy to get him to understand while I was so distracted.

No flame. That meant no bending.

When he first realized what happened, he just stared at his hand as if it was foreign to him, like it wasn’t his own. He punched, once, twice, three times and still, there was no fire.

He went into a kind of frenzy that I’d rather not describe. He just kept flailing and yelling, trying to somehow make fire. Finally, I grabbed him by the shoulder and he spun around, his eyes ablaze.

I shook my head at him as the tears welled in my eyes.

I gripped him in a tight hug, and for a long time, he just stood there, in my arms, stone cold.

“Are we done, then?” he said, breaking me from my thoughts.

“I think so,” I said, looking at the clock. “Oh crap! It’s four in the morning! We’ll only get two hours of sleep!”

“Then we might as well not go to sleep.” He shrugged and hopped into my desk chair. I gave him a questioning look and he sighed.

“I’ve got an idea....”

_*Zuko*_

We watched the first few episodes of my show, two of them, “The Boy in the Iceberg,” and “The Avatar Returns.” I never realized how funny that time was when I first invaded the Southern Water Tribe and Sokka had hit me over the head with his boomerang.

I watched the scene fondly, remembering how simple it was then, yet how angry I had been for all those years.

Through the whole two hours though, my mind would wander back to what had happened that afternoon.

No one knew I was alive as far as we knew…. And a question pricked at the back of my mind.

Why would they have gone after Nick?

_*Nick*_

“What happened?” Mei said, yelling at me as I walked up to her. “I saw Zuko this morning, but he wouldn’t tell me anything!”

“I can only tell you if you promise not to tell Cody! I don’t want him worrying....”

“Promise! What happened?”

Later…

“Hey, Nick. Are you alright? You seem a little edgier than usual today.” Cody started questioning me during science that afternoon. I had just told Lily about what had happened yesterday, but I wasn’t sure about telling Cody.

“Okay, look. I’ll tell you, but not right now, okay? No one can know about this.”

“Yeah, that’s fine.” he said, going back to his work.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you yet,” I whispered to him, “but I didn’t want you to worry about me.”

“No, it’s fine. Really,” he replied, smiling at me.

After the day was over, I explained the whole story to Mike and Cody as we were walking home together. Mike was a little surprised at the fact that I could actually defend myself that well, but Cody was mortified.

“Why were they after you? How come-” he was speaking a little too loudly and the kids walking home around us started to stare.

“Shhh!” I put my hand over his mouth to shut him up. “Please, don’t draw any more attention to this than absolutely necessary.”

“Right.” he said, shaking his head. He ran a hand through his hair. “Sorry.”

Mike looked like he was about to say something when Zuko stopped and turned to look behind him. He spoke in a whisper, “Nick, I think we’re being watched again. There are two guys behind us that have been following us since we walked out of school.”

I glanced around my shoulder, and I saw two men dressed in dark clothing walking behind us. “I think he’s right. They’re wearing the same kind of outfit the guy from yesterday was wearing.”

“Oh come on!” Mike said. “Are you kidding me? It’s just a coincidence. There’s no way that the guys are linked.”

“Well, you never know.” Mei said. “There have never been any attacks in town before the other day, so it’s a possibility.”

“Mei, since your place is the closest, would it be alright if we just hung out there for a little while so that we can lose the tails?” Zuko asked.

“Yeah, sure. You guys come too,” she said gesturing to Mike, Cody, and Lily.

_*Zuko*_

“Are they still out there?” I asked Nick.

“I think they’re gone,” she said, closing the curtains of Mei’s window, “but just to be safe, I think we should stay for a while longer. Maybe an hour or so. Is that alright with you, Mei?”

“Yeah, it’s fine. You guys wanna go in my brother’s room and play a game?”

“Sure!” Mike said immediately. He had been sitting in the corner half asleep for the last hour.

“I’ll teach you,” Mei said, smiling at me.

I smiled back.

_Later…_

“Okay. First, watch Mike, Cody, Nick and I do it. Then I’ll teach you the moves, and then you can play with us. Don’t worry, we’ll go easy.”

“Whatever you say,” I said, shrugging.

With that, they all started. The game appeared on the same screen we had watched Avatar on, and the four of them seemed to be controlling what was happening on the screen.

“Aww, no fair!” Nick said.

“All is fair in love and war,” Cody replied with a smirk.

“Are you gonna teach him to play or what? I wanna kick his ass!” Mike said.

“I will,” Mei said. She sat down next to me and put her hands over mine.

“I don’t think I’ll be too good at this….” I said hesitantly.

“Stop worrying!” Mei said. “You’ll be fine.” She gave me a big grin.

She started explaining the buttons on the controller and the different moves I could use, but my mind was somewhere else.

~Flashback~

“Aren’t you cold?” Mai said, walking toward me. The moon was full as I stared at it. It was a cold night on the water, but I ignored it.

“I got a lot on my mind. It’s been so long. Over three years since I was home. I wonder what’s changed. I wonder how I’ve changed.”

Mai sighs. “I just asked if you were cold .I didn’t ask for your whole life story.” She smiles and wraps her arms around me. “Stop worrying.”

Mai pulls me closer to her and kisses me. After a minute, she walks away and I continue to think....

~End Flashback~

“I have to go.” I stood up and started out of the room before anyone could say anything.

“Zu-Ash! Wait!” I heard Mei call behind me.

I ran downstairs and out the front door. I was halfway down the block when something stopped me.

“Ash! Wait! I-” Mei was cut off by my arm going out in front of her. She looked past me to see what I was looking at. I heard her swallow hard. “Please tell me I’m seeing things….”

“Stay back.” I whispered to her. She nodded and took a step behind me. I stepped forward toward them. “What do you want?” I said in my Firelord voice.

“You... and her,” said the taller one in the center. There were five guys…very large, muscular men. But the number and their size wasn’t what scared me. They had pointed to Nick as she ran toward us. The rest of the group finally caught up. Everyone was standing around us, with me standing in front of Mei. To my horror, Nick walked up next to me.

“Why do you want us?” Her voice strongly resembled that of Katara’s. I was a little thrown off for a second, but I shook it off quickly. I took notice that all of the men had some sort of weird tattoo. Whether on their heads, arms, or hands, they all had the same marking. I couldn’t make out what it was.

“That doesn’t concern you.” he said. “We just need you to come with us. You can either do this the easy way, or the hard way.”

“I choose neither!” I said. “Get lost!”

“Okay…. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.” He was about to make a gesture, when Nick called out.

“Wait!” She yelled. “They go free. Only us.”

“How very noble of you. But... they’re guilty by association. Get ‘em!”

“Get back!” Nick and I screamed to our friends as the guys rushed toward us. At first, no one moved. But once the shock was dropped, they prepared themselves.

Lily was wide-eyed. Mike jumped in front of her, having taken the same classes as Nick. Nick and Cody stood next to me, ready to fight alongside me. Mei just stared at the men blankly.

The first guy rushed at me with fists flailing. I ducked my head to the right as the first punch came at me, then a second, I ducked again, then a third, and I dropped to the ground and swiped his feet out from under him. He landed with a thud, and before he could get back up, I kicked him in the chest and poured punches into his throat. After a few seconds, he went out.

I was mortified when I realized that Mei was no longer behind me. I made a break for it.

_*Nick*_

The tallest one came at me, arms out, trying to grab me. I spun to the left and landed the kick hard in his stomach. He backed up a foot or two and I took the chance to punch him in the nose and to land a front kick into his groin.

He got up quickly and came at me again. This time, he went to kick me in the stomach. When I tried to dodge, I bent down when I should have jumped. The end result was a nasty blow to the head and me falling over. When I was on the ground, I got lucky because he jumped on top of me instead of crushing me by standing on me.

I did exactly what I was taught to do since I was little. Don’t panic: improvise. I wrapped my legs around his waist and threw my weight to one side. He flipped over and now I was on the top. I pummeled him with punches until his face was covered in blood, and then I scratched his eyes. In a panic, he flailed his arms around long enough for me to punch him in the throat.

I stood up and sprinted to where Cody was.

_*Lily*_

I stood frozen as the huge man came running at me. I didn’t know what to do or how to respond. I just stood there, scared to death. Then, out of nowhere, Mike tackled him from behind.

I watched in horror as they began to wrestle each other on the ground. Then, they both got up, and an all out fight ensued.  He kicked the man’s knee and his leg buckled backward. His leg was now bent at an odd angle that made my head spin slightly. But I had to keep watching.

Mike kicked at the man’s head and landed one in his face. The man tried to fight back with blind punches, but Mike continued hitting him, and finally, he crushed his throat with his foot, and a few seconds later, he passed out.

Mike got up slowly... panting. He stood up staring at the unconscious man for a minute, and then he looked at me. Our eyes locked, and I just stared at him. He had saved me, but I didn’t know what to do. I wanted to hug him and thank him, but the thought also repulsed me.

I was scared.

_*Nick*_

I saw Cody dodging repeatedly. A punch, a dodge. I ran faster than I’d ever had in my life. As I ran, I felt the blood start to trickle into my eyes. I wiped it away quickly, and just as I saw that Cody had fallen over, I kicked the man hard in the back and he fell over. Cody looked up at me, and I held out a hand to him. He got up, and so did our attacker.

Cody and I ran at him and he braced himself. I knew that he would know which of us to go for first, so I figured he’d attempt to get whoever comes closer to him first. So, I sprinted ahead of Cody and he landed a punch to my head as Cody kicked him in the stomach.

Cody dodged another punch and kick as I got up, wearily. When I regained balance I held my head for a second and regained my vision. I saw that Cody continued to dodge him, but I knew you can only stay that fast for so long.

I sprinted at the man and I jumped as high as I could into the air. I let out a yell and landed a flying kick to his head. He stumbled backward and fell over. Then, he passed out.

For a few moments, I just stared at the man in disgust. I wanted to hurt him further. I wanted to make him suffer. If anything were to happen to-

But I stopped when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned and saw Cody there, a small smile on his face. But when he saw me, it quickly faded to worry. He grimaced at the blood all over my face.

“You okay?” he asked. He gently brushed some of the blood out of my eyes. “Thank you for taking that hit for me. He would have knocked me out.”

“It’s fine.” I said, panting. We looked around for a second and I caught a glimpse of what was happening. “Oh no! Mei!” I sprinted after Cody as we ran to where she was.

_*Mei*_

I watched as Zuko took down the man that was coming for me first. I felt relieved, worried, and embarrassed all in one. Then I saw him coming.

He held up a knife in his hand that I hadn’t seen before and started running toward me.

He lunged at me, knife raised. I jumped out of the way and managed to do a tuck and roll. I was amazed I did that on the first try. My excitement didn’t last very long though because he was soon coming at me again, and I found myself at a stand-still. He lunged at me again, so this time I ducked down between his legs and tried rolling forward again. It felt like everything was moving in a blur of time.

To my horror, when I regained my footing, he was diving at me again and he tackled me to the ground. I cried out in pain when I heard my head hit the pavement. I immediately felt a wet and sticky sensation on the back of my head. I looked up, and over me, I saw him holding up the knife. This time, I screamed out for Zuko.

“ZUKO!”

“Mei!” Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him running toward me, screaming.

And just as Zuko leaped toward us in one final attempt to save me, the man plunged the knife down.

What happened next was foggy because I was screaming and crying in agony. After the man used the knife, Zuko tackled him from the side and grabbed the arm with the knife. The man was extremely strong, but so was Zuko. They fought back and forth with the knife, until Zuko finally pulled back on it instead of pushing it forward and got it out of his hand. He plunged the knife straight into his stomach.

After that, I saw the others start to rush over but my vision was going.

“Mei? Mei! Can you hear me?” Nick was at my side, keeping a steady tone in her voice. As much as I wanted to respond, I couldn’t.

“Nick, she’s getting pale!” Cody’s voice was there too.

“Mei...?” This time, it was Zuko’s voice. Again, I couldn’t find the strength to respond.

“Mei, please... Don’t leave me. I need you, Mei.” I felt him pick up my hand and hold it gently on his scar. I knew it was his scar because the first time I felt it, it had a cold sensation unlike anything else I’ve ever felt in my life. Then, I felt wetness on my hand.

A tear.

“I need you.”


	5. Revelation

Chapter Five: Revelation

_*Zuko*_

“And that’s pretty much how I met Zuko and why he’s here,” Nick finished.

We’re all sitting in Mei’s room, waiting for her to wake up.

“Zuko, she’s gonna be okay,” Nick said, trying to reassure me. I continued to pace around the room.

“I’m so stupid! If I had just gotten there sooner….” I looked over at the bed where Mei was laying, unconscious. I walked over to her and took off my sunglasses. I heard a gasp from Lily, but I didn’t care. I tossed them onto the dresser behind me and stare at Mei.

“This is all my fault.... I’m so sorry.” I looked down at the floor in disgust with myself. “I should’ve gotten there sooner. I shouldn’t have even come here in the first place! I’m so stupid! If we just would’ve gone home....” I slammed down my fists on the dresser. “I _hate_ myself!”

Then I felt a hand on my shoulder. “Zuko, please...” It was Nick again.

“You don’t get it! If something happens to her, it’s my fault!”

“I do get it, Zuko. If I had told my dad not to go... he’d still be here.” She took a deep breath. “I understand how you feel. Regret... hatred... pain... I’ve gone through it all. I hate myself too.”

I looked up at her, and she looked back at me with sorrow in her eyes. I felt her pain just from the way she looked at me. And I knew she was telling me the truth.

“I don’t hate you!” It was so quiet that I forgot Lily, Mike and Cody were still in the room. Lily was sitting on the floor toward the end of Mei’s bed. Mike was standing in the corner, leaning up against the closet opposite her. Cody was standing against the wall by Mei’s bed. He was the one who’d spoken. Everyone was staring at him, now.

“I... I care about you, Nick.” All of us were wide-eyed and no one said a word. “We all do.”

Nick just looked at him, confused. “You.... You what?”

“Well... you’re my best friend, sorry Mike,” he said. Mike just shrugged and looked out the window like nothing had happened.

_*Nick*_

“Oh... right,” I said. I turned to hide my expression, but he quickly cut in again.

“No, no, no! I mean, yeah, we’re great friends....” He trailed off.

“Yeah... I know that,” I said, looking away from him. “After all... you were the one who found me, you know.”

“Yeah, I know.” I went through a dark time in my life about two years ago. I had no friends, I hated myself.... I felt like I had no reason anymore. The year before that, I thought I had great friends... but then they turned on me. They started to torment me, and by the time the next year started, I had no one.

But then... someone I never expected to come along... did... just last year. I’d known him since we were little, but for some reason, we’d never become really close. There wasn’t a reason... we just weren’t close friends. But then this kid... just some kid who’d been there the whole time reached his hand out to me. I’d never had someone who wanted to be my friend first. He was the first person to do that. He became my first real friend. And from there, we started to hang out with the others too. That’s how our little group formed. If I didn’t have Cody, I probably wouldn’t be here right now. I don’t know what I would’ve done if he hadn’t reached his out to me that day. I will never forget that.

But I could never find a way to thank him.

In the last year, he’d changed, but only to those who know him well. His jaw seemed to have broadened slightly, and his hair was now down to his neck, rather than in spikes in the front. His shoulders also broadened, and he’d grown to be close to my height. Of course, the freckled face I had come to call my best friend, was staring at me the way he always has. But... I never understood why.

I didn’t want to admit it.

I stared into his blue-green eyes and he locked into my blue eyes. I couldn’t look away. Just from looking into his eyes, I finally understood everything. The looks he’d give me, the way he smiled at me, why he’d laugh at my lame jokes.... I guess I’d always known it.... I was just afraid to be let down.

“Nick...?” I was jerked out of my thoughts by his voice. He was still staring at me.

“Yeah?”  He paused for a second and looked out the window next to us. I looked outside too, on alert for those guys.... Then, Cody sighed and looked me dead in the face.

“Do you want to go out with me?”

Tears came to my eyes.

I threw myself at him, hugging him as tight as I could without hurting him. I felt him tense up at the shock of it, then he breathed a sigh of relief and hugged me back, tightly.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” he said, breathing heavily.

“Good... because it is,” I said, smiling. I hugged him tighter.

“Hey... what’s...?” he asked. I gently pulled away from him and he looked at me, then his hand. It was covered in blood. He looked back up at me, his eyes wide.

“I guess when I took that blow to my head to stop him from hitting you, I-”

He laughed the laugh I’d come to find comfort in, and then took my hand in his... the clean one.

“Come on. Let me at least clean you up.”

“Uh... okay...” He took me into the bathroom across the hall and pulled out the first aid kit. He took out some bandages and some sanitary wipes.

“Umm... Can you hold up your hair?”

“Oh! Right!” I pulled my hair up and held it in my shaking hands. I haven’t been this happy in years... or nervous.

Apparently, he was too because as he wiped the blood away, I felt his hand shaking.

“Does that hurt?”

“No, I’m fine. Are you okay? I saw you fall over once.”

“Nah, I’m fine. I’m glad you’re okay, too.”

I blushed. “Thanks.”

“Hey, guys!” It was Lily’s voice coming from Mei’s room. I immediately jumped up, with Cody following me.

“She’s waking up,” she said as we walked into the room.

_*Mei*_

I didn’t know where I was. All I could see was darkness and it was so hard to breathe. My sense of direction was off, so I just kept moving forward.

After what felt like hours of swimming, I finally saw a light. I moved toward the light, and I suddenly felt the sensation of falling. I tried to scream, but no sound came out. I finally hit the ground.

I’m in the palace... in the Fire Nation... but it’s being destroyed.

The dream shifted, and I was watching as he jumped into the ocean and began to swim. I tried to call his name, but I couldn’t find my voice. I tried to run after him, but my feet wouldn’t move.

I began to cry for him, watching him go.

Then, he disappeared under the water. Finally, I wasn’t being held back.

I jumped into the water after him. I swam as fast as I could, no matter how far away he was. When I got to the spot where he disappeared, I dove.

I spotted him at least ten feet below the surface. I just kept diving and diving, trying to get to him. When I finally got to him, I grabbed his arm and started to pull him up, but by that point, I had I lost my breath.

I grabbed onto him and hugged him, knowing this was the end.

I’d always thought I’d die alone. I’d never had a boyfriend, no one’s ever liked me....

But now that I was dying... here and with Zuko... I was satisfied.

_Later…_

I began to feel a stabbing pain in my chest, and I saw darkness behind my eyelids. I groaned and started to slowly open my eyes.

“Mei...?” It was Zuko’s voice. He felt and sounded close, but I couldn’t be sure. I focused my vision and then I saw him sitting next to me.

“Zuko....”

“It’s okay, I’m here.”

“You... you....” I said, trying to focus on remembering. “You saved my life….” I tried to sit up, but I stopped immediately; my head was spinning. Zuko put his hand on my shoulder and eased me back down.

I looked next to Zuko and saw Nick looking at me. Her face and hair were stained with blood. I looked around for minute. Zuko had a bruise on his cheek, Lily was perfect, as usual, Mike had a cut on his forehead with some dried up blood, and Cody had a black and blue on his chin.

“Are we... dead?” I asked. Because honestly, I didn’t know. Everyone laughed, but I didn’t because everything hurt. “Scratch that. If I were dead, I wouldn’t be in pain.”

“Unless you went to hell,” Mike interrupted. Everyone laughed, and I stared daggers at him.

“Ha ha. So funny.”

“Ooooh.... Anyone else feel a draft in here?” Cody added.

Everyone laughed again. Then I realized that Zuko’s arm was still around me, and my head was resting on it. I was in too much pain to even think of blushing. “Zuko....” My voice sounded weaker than ever. “Can I ask you something?”

“Yes, of course.”

“When you nearly drowned... what do you remember?”

“Well... not much.” I sighed. I thought that maybe my dream was connected to what really happened somehow.

“Well, the guys did say they wanted you and Nick, right?” Mike pointed out.

“Yeah... they did,” Nick said.

“Does anyone know what that tattoo was?” I asked.

“No... I don’t think so....” Zuko said.

“Neither do I,” Cody said.

“Wait! I’ve seen that image somewhere before….” Nick said. “Did it look like… a _flower_ to you?”

Everyone looked at each other.

“But what kind of flower?” Lily asked.

“A lily?” Mike asked.

“Wow, Mike. Just...just wow.” Everyone laughed at me again.

“I know that flower.... Hey, can I use your laptop?” Nick asked me.

“Yeah, sure.” She punched away at the keys until, finally, she pulled up a website with a catalog of flowers. There was a picture of each one, with its name and classification next to it.

“How are we going to find it in all of these flowers?” Mike asked.

“Because...” Nick began, “I’m looking for one in particular….” She stopped. “I was right.”

“A lotus?” Mike asked.

“A lotus,” Zuko said, “is a type of flower from both my world and yours. It’s almost like a lily, but it has spikes, almost. There is an alliance in my world, called The Order of the White Lotus. It’s a group of really old guys, typically. When we set up a rebellion, I was inducted into the society. The only type of lotus I’ve ever seen is white... not _black_.”

“Then maybe we’re looking in the wrong place...” Nick typed something into the computer and finally found something. “ _A black lotus is a flower, known to be only in mythology and is considered to have magical properties. In most American media, the black lotus is used for healing in many fantasy games. However, in Asian culture, the black lotus is known for its powers of darkness and destruction._ ” She leaned back from the laptop. “Oh God....”

“Okay... well, _obviously_ they’re bad guys!” Mike said.

“Yeah...” Zuko started, “but isn’t it weird how the organization in my world is the Order of the _White_ Lotus?”

“Yeah,” said Nick, “and what about how they knew who Zuko was?”

“Yeah...” Cody started. Everyone turned to Cody and he looked at all of us, but lingered on Nick for a second. “But... if they want Zuko... then why would they want Nick? I mean, how does she relate to him?”

No one said a word.

_*Nick*_

Later that night, Zuko and I were in the kitchen, and Cleo – my sister – and I were teaching him how to play a card game called War.

“Ha! An ace!” Cleo shouted. “I get all of your cards, Ash!” She sneered his name with a grin. I stared at her, and she took the hint.

“We interrupt this program to inform you of breaking news....”  Zach paused the T.V. and called my mom in. We all stood in the living room together, and Zuko and I looked at each other.

“At 5:40 this evening, a high school student went missing.” A picture of her then appeared on the screen.  “Authorities say she was last seen walking home from school. She has blue eyes and blonde hair and stands at five feet, six inches. If you have seen her or hear anything from her, contact the police immediately. Thank you, and we hope to find her soon.”

I stared at the T.V. blankly, wondering how she could’ve disappeared. I looked to Zuko, and when he looked back at me.

“Do you guys know anything?” Zach asked us.

“No! We had no idea!” I told him.

“If you hear anything else from school, let us know.”

“Okay,” Zuko and I said. He looked at me and nodded toward the stairs.

I yawned. “I’m tired. See you guys in the morning. Come on Ash, you should get to bed too.”

He sighed, climbing up the stairs behind me, but once we were in my room, he started pacing.

“This doesn’t make any sense!” he nearly shouted. I told him to keep it down and he continued in a loud whisper. “Why would they go after kids from our school and not us… or our friends?”

“Yes, it does make sense. That girl was in one of our classes together. She was just at the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“That makes sense…. But why would there be a band of people like this in your world? I thought you told me that my world is just part of some kids’ show?”

“It is…. That’s what I don’t understand….” I started pacing around the room to come up with a better solution. I eyed my laptop on my desk and sat down.

“Okay... so where do we start?” I asked him.

“Well first, can you explain what that is?” He pointed to my shoulder. From normally wearing sweatshirts, I guessed he had never seen it before. I looked at it for a second, remembering the birthmark on my arm.

“Oh, that’s just a birthmark. I was born with it, but for some reason, this one seems to grow occasionally. It just keeps getting bigger.”

“Do you know what this is?”

“Well... I thought it looked like a bunch of grapes or a daisy....”

“Look harder.”

I looked at it and realized what he had meant.

He typed in, “White Lotus.”

As soon as I clicked it, I understood what he was talking about. Millions of pictures of white lotuses started popping up, and they all looked like the mark on my right shoulder. I turned and faced him.

“So... you think I’m some kind of honorary member or something?”

“No... I think that your world has something similar though. Is there a way to look?”

“Yeah. It’ll take some time, but I’ll do some research into it.” I told him. Just then my cell phone buzzed in my pocket. It was Mei. “Oh, hey Mei! Wow, you actually called, and didn’t text!”

“My phone was taken away for not telling my mom how I got this huge gash... and refusing to go to the hospital.”

“Compared to your usual punishment, you got off easy.”

“Yeah, whatever. But I wanted to ask you what you were wearing to the school dance tomorrow night.”

“Oh God, I forgot that was coming up…” I replied with a sigh. “Zuko, we’re going to a school dance.”

“Oh my God! Zuko’s coming!”

“Mei...”

“What do I wear?! What about my hair?”

“Mei...”

“I have to get a new skirt! Oh my God, what if he asks me to dance?”

“Mei!”

“Huh?”

“You’re on speaker phone.”

“Shit.”

“Hi, Mei. Don’t worry, you’ll be fine,” Zuko said. “That is...until I ask you to dance.”

Mei didn’t say anything on the other end, so I shook my head and asked, “When is it?”

“It’s from eight to midnight!” she said in a rush.

“Okay. Meet me at my place at seven. I have something to tell you. See you tomorrow.” I hung up the phone, hoping that maybe she’d calm down. I called the others and all of them said they could come, too.

I just hoped that we could figure this out before anything got worse.

The next day, Zuko and I had gone shopping for his outfit. By six o’clock we were getting ready.

“I think you should wear that one,” Zuko said, eyeing a dress in my closet.

“What? I can’t wear that! I mean... it wouldn’t look good on me.”

“Sure it would! Why wouldn’t it?”

“Maybe because I’m not exact what you’d call ‘pretty,’” I mumbled to myself.

“Then why would Cody ask you out?”

“You think I have any idea what’s going through that diluted boy’s brain? I have no idea why he asked me out.”

“He’s lucky.” He walked me over to the mirror in my closet. “He just doesn’t know how lucky.”

For the first time in awhile, I looked at myself in the mirror. The only thing I liked was my hair and eyes because I looked like my dad. My face looked like him, too, so I wondered if maybe there was something I couldn’t see.

“What are you talking about?” I said turning my head to him.

“Look. You have a very pretty smile. You have a nice figure,” he stated with a smirk. I turned around and slapped him across the face. He winced and looked at me, red-faced. “You pack a punch, too.”

“Thank you.”

“Trust me. The last thing a kid his age would do is tell you how he really felt. They’re afraid of looking stupid or dorky in from of their friends for complimenting a girl.”

“Yeah, okay. Like you actually mean any of this junk. You just want to make me feel better.”

I stormed into my closet and got dressed.

“If I just wanted to make you feel better, why would I make you look in the mirror? I want you to see what I see.”

I looked down and gripped my arms, taking a deep breath. I couldn’t help but think that maybe he was right, even if I had never felt that nice before.

_*Zuko*_

An hour later, the doorbell rang. Nick was still getting ready, so I answered it. Cody and Mike were standing there, so I let them in with a smile.

“Hey guys.” I said.

“Hey, Zuko!” Mike said cheerily.

“Shh! Nick’s parents don’t know who I am! I’m still Ash to them!”

“Sorry.” he said in a whisper.

I walked them into the living room and they sat down on the couches.

Mike was wearing a black collared shirt with jeans and a blue tie. Cody wore a pink polo with plaid shorts that went just past the knee. I was wearing a red shirt with black jeans. Nick showed me how to do a tie.

A few seconds later, the doorbell rang again. This time it was Lily.

“Hi, Ash,” she said, smiling.

“Hi, Lily. The guys are in the living room, and Nick is still getting ready.”

“Okay!” she said in her cheery voice.

“Hi guys!”

Cody and Mike stood up. Cody walked over and greeted her with a smile.

“What’s up, girlfriend?” Cody said, laughing. Lily laughed back at him, but Mike was just staring at her, wide-eyed.

Lily was wearing a pink dress that had spaghetti straps and sparkles. The bottom was cut in an angle that reached to her thigh. She was also wearing pink heals.

“Go talk to her,” I said.

“What if I say something stupid?”

“First of all, all of us always act stupid.” He nodded his head, agreeing. “Something that I’ve learned in the time I’ve been here is that stupid is normal for some people... our group especially. She won’t care what you say. Go for it!” I gave him a small shove toward her, and he stumbled forward.

“Uh... hi, Lily.”

“Hi, Mike!” she said, smiling.

“Uh... you look... nice,” he said, blushing furiously. He rubbed the back of his head in a way that reminded me of Aang.

“Oh! Um... thank you!” She was a cheery as ever, and that compliment was probably the height of their relationship.

“No problem,” he said, feeling more confidence.

“Ash, are they here yet?” Nick called from the top of the stairs.

“Yeah!” Cody and I went to the stairs with Mike and Lily following.

Nick was wearing a light blue dress that came down just above the knee. Her hair was pulled back like Katara’s, and she had on black flats with bows on the toe. Cody’s jaw dropped.

“Hi, guys...”

“Nick, you look so pretty!” Lily shrieked.

“No, I don’t. Anyway, you look great!”

“Thanks! But Nick, really! It looks really nice!”

“Hi, Nick,” Cody said. She looked at him and blushed.

“Umm... hi.”

“Your dress is.... You’re.... You look... really nice.” Nick turned a bright shade of pink.

“Oh! ...I... um... you really think so?”

“Well... yeah.” Nick immediately turned completely red.

“Wow... I... thank you….” she said, staring at her feet.

“No problem.”

“You look really great, too.”

“Uh....” He went from freckled white to red instantaneously. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome!”

Then, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around and saw Mei.

She was wearing a red dress that was layered and strapless. It ended high on her thigh. Her hair was straightened and she had a small braid twisted in the front of her hair and hung over to the side, so it looked like a headband.

I was speechless.

“Hi,” she said.

“Hi, Mei.”

“I like your outfit,” she said.

“You look... amazing.”

Her immediate response was that she just stared at me, wide-eyed. Then, she smiled and blushed, giving me a shove on the arm.

“Come on! Let’s go!” Nick said.

“Wait! Pictures!” Nick’s mom said. “Oh, come on! Act like you like each other!” she joked. I put my arm around Mei’s waist and held her close to me. She smiled and leaned toward me. Mike and Lily just looked at each and shrugged.

“You can put your arm around her, Mike,” Nick’s mom said. He gently put his arm around her shoulders and she held his shaking hand.

Cody didn’t even move.

“I won’t bite, ya know,” Nick said, smiling. He looked at her and laughed nervously. “Here.” She took his arm and put it around her shoulders. She hugged his waist.

“Now is that so bad?” her mom asked. She took a few pictures, and then the same process began with pictures of couples. Then, we heard the news.

The reported missing girl was found dead in the parking lot behind the mall this afternoon. Authorities say it was a stabbing incident and that they were afraid that there could be a gang on the loose.

“Okay, that does it,” Nick’s mom said. “I’m driving you all to and from the school dance.”

Nick and I looked at each other and said that we were going in the basement to play some video games before the dance. We raced down the stairs and told them everything from what we thought happened to the girl, to the mark on Nick’s arm.

“You think there’s a connection between the mark on her arm and the Order of the White Lotus?” Mei asked.

“Yeah,” said Nick, “and don’t forget, my dad was into Chinese culture and what-not. I bet that has something to do with all of this.”

“So... you’re saying that your dad knew about the White Lotus from Avatar and started an order here?”

“We don’t know. He died before the show even came out, but I think there is a tie between the two.”

“And these Black Lotus guys?” Mike asked.

“No clue,” I said.

“I’m working on it though,” Nick said. “I’m doing some research to see if there’s a connection somewhere.”

“Come on, Nick! Get everyone upstairs! You don’t want to be late!” Nick’s mom called.

“Let’s worry about that stuff later,” Mei said, lacing her arm through mine.


	6. Protection

Chapter Six: Protection

_*Zuko*_

The six of us were in the car together, with Nick, Cody, and I huddled into the back seat, Lily and Mike in the middle two chairs, and Mei in the passenger seat next to Nick’s mom. We were finally on our way to the dance, and everyone was whispering the whole way there.

“Hey, Nick,” I said, tapping her on the shoulder.

“What’s up?” she whispered back to me.

“Here. Take this,” I said, handing her a small box. It was about five inches long, thin and black, with a ribbon around the middle.

 “Thanks, Zuko,” she said. “What is it?”

“Open it when you feel the time is right.” I took the box from her and gently tied it around her thigh with the ribbon. She cocked her eyebrows at me, but pulled her dress back over it anyway.

Then, we pulled up to the front doors.

It was crowded with all of the kids from school. Some of them were in little huddles with their friends, and others were in larger groups. One large group in particular caught my eye. I listened in on the conversation.

“I can’t believe it!” One brunette girl was in tears.

“I can’t believe she’s... gone,” said a dark haired boy.

After that, I stopped listening. I knew how they felt and didn’t need to hear any more of it. As we walked in, I hung my head low and handed the kid my ticket. I didn’t even notice we were in the gym until Mei caught my eye.

“You okay?” she asked in a worried tone. She sincerely looked sorry for me, and for some reason, when I looked at her, I realized how much she truly cared about my feelings and forgot why I was upset in the first place.

I took her hand and looked her in the eyes with a gentle gaze. “I am now.” She immediately blushed, and I couldn’t help but chuckle to myself.

There were blue, green, pink, and orange lights lighting up the room with a soft glow, changing between the different colors. There were tables lining the walls with white table cloths and a single candle in the center. A band was playing at the front of the room, singing something unfamiliar to me.

The six of us went over to a table toward the back of the gym in the corner. I set my coat down at one seat and pulled out the chair to my right for Mei. She looked up at me and grinned. “Thank you.”

“My pleasure.”

Cody watched as I did that for Mei and immediately pulled out the chair to my left for Nick. What he didn’t realize was that she was standing right there. The end result: a bruised foot.

_“Shit!_ Nick, I am _so_ sorry! I didn’t-”

“Cody, it’s fine! No worries!”

He breathed a sigh of relief. During all of this, I saw out of the corner of my eye that Mike sat next to Cody’s seat, and he pulled out the chair for Lily, as well. She was seated next to Mei.

After we were all seated, a new song came on.

“Come on!” Nick said, taking Cody’s arm. “Please dance with me?” She gave him a sweet, pleading look, and he caved in for her immediately.

“May I have this dance?” I asked Mei, holding out my hand to her.

“I don’t know.... I’m not really that great a dancer....”

“I’ll teach you.”

She smiled and followed me onto the dance floor.

Lily and Mike were left at the table looking around in opposite directions. When Mike realized they were the only ones left, he got some courage.

“Uh...if you want to dance-”

“I don’t really like this song,” she said quickly.

Mike turned away from her but spoke loudly enough for her to hear. “That’s cool, I don’t either.”

We went out to the middle of the floor and slow danced together. I put my hands around Mei’s waist and she put her hands awkwardly around my neck.

“You don’t have to be scared ya know,” I said. “I don’t bite.... I do breathe fire, though.”

She giggled at this and both of us turned slightly pink under the blue and green glowing lights.

“Look, I have to talk to you.” I said, my tone changing.

“Umm... okay,” she said wearily.

“Don’t worry, it’s nothing bad or anything you did. It’s just... When I first met you and I found out your name, you know how I felt. I immediately related you to the Mai that I knew, and I’m sorry. That was wrong of me.”

“Zuko-”

“Let me finish. Please.” She nodded and I continued.

“Then I realized that I shouldn’t have related her to you. I found out that you two weren’t anything alike. She was a much darker person than you, and I loved that about her. You on the other hand are just the opposite; always trying to crack a joke to make us laugh.” She smirked at this, and then I continued. “What I’m trying to say is.... She never realized that besides us being together, there are other good things in life. I just.... I want to thank you... for everything.”

I pulled a loose strand of her hair behind her ear and we stared at each other for a few lingering moments. Her eyes sparkled, and in hers, I saw mine shine with a joyous glow for the first time in my life.

I felt some sort of energy dragging me toward her until we were an inch apart. Her scent was enveloping my senses. I let myself drown in it, and before I realized what was happening, the entire gym went black, screams echoing everywhere.

_*Nick*_

I took Cody’s hand, holding it gently but firmly. There were kids running in every direction, slamming me into Cody several times. I moved my other arm out in front of me, and I tapped the nearest shoulder after a few seconds of groping about. It was Mike and we were back at the table.

Zuko and Mei had made it back over, but as I touched Zuko’s shoulder, the lights came back on. Everyone stopped screaming and clapped, but the band was no longer on the stage. Everyone stopped clapping at the sight of the newcomers, who were now standing on the stage. Before my brain could even process who it was, Zuko grabbed my shoulders and thrust both of us under the table. I ended up hitting my shoulder hard on the gym floor, but I barely noticed the pain as I realized how frantic Zuko was. He quickly draped the cloth back over us, and poked his head out under the cloth. Both of us were on our stomachs on the gym floor.

“Zuko, is that-?” I went next to him and peaked out from under the cloth too. Then, they started speaking.

“NO ONE MOVE!” said the leader. It was the same one who had spoken the last time we met. Bald, with a mustache the black lotus tattoo, but he was slightly bigger than the rest of the group. This time, there were only three of them.

All of the kids started whispering and some had mortified looks on their faces. I looked around frantically for the others but saw nothing. I assumed they’d gotten under a table nearby. I breathed a silent sigh of relief.

“QUIET!” the man bellowed at the crowd. The room became quieter, but there were still a few whispers.

“I SAID _QUIET!”_ I couldn’t see from where I was, but I didn’t need to, as I soon heard the deafening sound of shot being fired. My stomach dropped, and I slammed my eyes shut from the force of the blow.

“NOW,” he said, looking around the room, “BRING US THE BOY WITH THE SCAR AND THE GIRL WITH THE BIRTHMARK!”

I looked to Zuko, pleading for him to let me go, just me, but his gaze remained unmoved, staring endlessly at the men.

“YOU HAVE TEN SECONDS!” I looked to Zuko with a frightened expression, but he didn’t even look at me as he shook his head.

“ALRIGHT! IF NO ONE IS GOING TO GIVE THEM UP...” He paused and looked about the room. Something by a table must have caught his eye, and I held my breath as I saw him yank out Cody from under the table. I watched in horror as he gripped him by the collar of his shirt and held him up, high over his head. Zuko had to cover my mouth with his hand to keep me from crying out. Cody grabbed the man’s hand and tried to get him off his shirt, but his efforts were futile.

I started to get up, but Zuko quickly slammed my back to the ground. I stared daggers at him, and I could tell he knew the pain I felt through my glare, but he remained un-phased as he shook his head again.

My stomach lurched as I saw the man raise his gun to Cody’s head. For a few seconds longer, he continued to struggle, unaware of the danger that now faced him. Then he faced the man, still struggling. When he saw what was happening, his eyes grew wide and his body went numb with fear.

“GIVE THEM UP, OR I’LL SHOOT!”

“ _No!”_

Time stopped then. Everyone was looking at me. I felt the stares, the whispers, the gasps.  But I only cared about one thing right then and there. I stared straight into the man’s eyes. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Cody staring at me, mouth gaping.

“Let. Him. Go.”

The man looked at me blankly for a few seconds, but then a sickening grin spread across his face. He lowered the gun and dropped Cody to the gym floor, a few feet below. He got on his hands and knees as Lily, Mei, and Mike came out from underneath another table nearby. They were at his side in seconds, but they were paying attention to Cody.

Everyone else in the room watched me as the man raised his gun and aimed for my forehead. I took the lonely road down the gym to the stage, and I stood there, looking up at him.

“He isn’t here. He’s gone,” I told him. On the outside, I was cold. Inside, I was shaking and barely able to get out the words I needed to say. But I wanted nothing more than for no one else to get hurt, and that’s what brought me up there.

“So be it,” he sneered. He nodded his head toward me, and the other two men came to my sides at once, each roughly grabbing my upper arms. He nodded to them again, and they lifted me by my arms onto the stage. I felt the burn of twisted and stretched skin, but I ignored it as I faced my entire school.

“THIS IS THE GIRL WE WANT,” he said to everyone, “AND IT’S BECAUSE OF _THIS_ ,” He grabbed my arm and held it out toward the crowd, revealing my birthmark. “THAT WE WANT HER. SHE IS NOT YOUR FRIEND! YOU HAVE BEEN FOOLED! AFTER TONIGHT, YOU SHALL ONLY FEAR THE BOY! THE OTHER _MARKED ONE!”_ He spat out the title, as if the title was a curse.

The man then jumped off the stage, into the crowd, and everyone backed up a few feet. He proceeded to leave the gym, and the men lead me to the door. I kept my head down on the way.

When we finally reached the door, I jerked myself to a stop, and they stumbled for a second, just long enough for me to take one last look at my friends. With tears in my eyes, I gave them a look that said it all, and I looked to the table where Zuko was for a brief moment, hoping he’d get the message as well. I looked to Cody one last time, and he gave me the same look right back. Then, the men threw me out the gym doors.

_*Zuko*_

Nick disappeared out the doors.

Then everyone was in a panic.

Kids were screaming and running around the gym. Some teachers started to send the students home, while others called the police. Mei and Lily were crying while Mike was standing there in shock. I rushed over to where they were on the gym floor, Lily and Mei holding each other with Cody staring at the doors. He didn’t move when I took his arm.

“She’s gone,” I told him, “but we’ll get her back.”

“We’ll get her back?” he turned around, questioning me. “We’ll get her back?!”

“Look, you have to trust me, okay?”

“Why should I trust you?” he screamed at me. “You’re the reason she’s gone in the first place! She could be hurt out there!” He turned away from me, then and ran his hand through his hair in frustration. “She could be....” He drifted off and dropped his arms at his sides.

“No she won’t,” I told him sternly. I walked in front of him and put my hands on his shoulders. “Look at me.” He looked up, his eyes filled with tears. “We will save her.”

He nodded at me once and turned around, facing the others. “Guys!” he yelled at them. All of them immediately turned their attention to him. “Shut the hell up, and get ready to go!” Everyone just stared at him blankly for a minute.

“But where would we go?” Mike asked. “Where would we even start to look?”

“Did she take her phone with her?” Mei asked.  “She always has it on her.”

“Make we can tap into her navigation system.” Cody said.

“Or text her...?” Mei said.

“That would make them hear her phone,” Mike interrupted.

“Do we know if she even took it with her?” Cody asked.

“No. She left it home,” Lily said. “She had nowhere to keep it, because she didn’t bring a bag.”

“My uncle would know if he was here....” I thought aloud. “Maybe.... No, it can’t be....”

“Something wrong, Zuko?” Mei asked.

If only Uncle were here. He knows more about the Order of the White Lotus than I do.

“We need to get to a computer right now.” Mike said.

“Would a phone work?” Mei asked.

“It might.” he said taking the phone. He punched in the site address and typed in Nick’s screen name. “Anyone know a password?”

“Why are we hacking her email?” Mei asked.

“She said she was doing research on this shit, right?” he said, trying passwords. None of them were working.

“Someone has to know it. We all know her well enough, right?” Mei said.

“Never mind, I got it.” Mike said.

Cody eyed him. “What was it?” But Mike was too busy digging through her drafts to find out what she learned.

“I think I found something,” he said. “Listen to this. She found a few websites and pieced this together. It looked like she was going to send it to all of us. The time stamp though….” His eyes widened. “The time stamp was when she was getting ready.”

I spoke up. “She was trying to find out what was happening before the dance. That’s why it took her so long to get ready.” I shook my head. “I should’ve known. She doesn’t wear makeup or do anything fancy that would take her much longer than usual.”

Mike sighed. “Let’s just see what she found.” He scrolled down to read what she wrote.

“The White Lotus Rebellion was a rebellion in ancient China during the Yuan era. The Emperor didn’t took away the rights of the citizens. Then, a group of rebels decided to take the crown when they became tired of following these strict laws. Their leader was Zhu Yuanzhang, and together he and the rebels took the crown and started the Ming dynasty. Zhu Yuanzhang became the new Emperor of China. This rebellion was the largest rebellion in China, and was later followed by the Boxer Rebellion in the west.”

Cody said, “The Boxer Rebellion was a group of Chinese-Americans, that wanted to stop racism toward the Chinese in the early 1900’s, right?”

“I think so,” Mei said. “But what does that have to do with this? Now all we know is how the show is linked to real life,” Mei said.

“And now we know that Nick has a connection to me,” I said.

“Does this mean Nick’s dad was a member of the American branch or something?” Mike said. “To what? Fight for Chinese rights?”

“No,” I said. “It’s to fight for freedom and to protect their beliefs and the people they love.”

“That makes more sense,” Mei said.

“So what does this mean?” Lily asked. “Is Nick some sort of prophecy ninja that’s supposed to save the world or something?”

“I’m a member through my uncle, so she probably is through her dad,” I said.

“So what does this do for us now?” Cody asked.

“We know why they want us now.” I explained. “I inherited the leader role in my world, and she’s the leader in yours.”

“Well what are we waiting for now?” Mei asked. “We have to go save her!”

“I don’t think that’s necessary,” I replied. Cody shot me a glare. “I think she’s about to find out who she really is on her own.”

_*Nick*_

I was in a dark car on a highway with only the passing streetlights for me to occasionally see. The rain beat down hard on the windows and I was soaked to the bone. I was thrown into the back, hands tied, mouth taped. There was another black car following us with the rest of them.

“Now that we’ve finally got you, you little scoundrel, the boss can finally decide what to do with you and put an end to another Mente interfering,” said the man in the passenger seat.

“That damn Mente was a pain in the ass,” said the driver. “Of course, you can never hope to be the pest your father was. Too bad he’s gone now.” The two men started laughing at his comment.

I knew they were saying this on purpose but it was getting to me. I would never hope to be the hero my dad was. I didn’t even know if I can save myself. I had always imagined crazy scenarios where I could be a hero like my dad. But here and now, I realized that I was afraid. My entire body is shaking with defeat.

I had let everyone down. My friends would be wondering where I was, hoping I wasn’t dead. I didn’t know if they would try to follow, but I hoped that Zuko had the sense to not let them follow me.

Then it hit me.

I used my teeth to bite off the tape on my mouth and spit it out onto the floor. I pulled up the skirt of my dress. And there on my leg was the little black box tied to my thigh. I looked up to make sure they weren’t looking, and they were still bad-mouthing my father.

My face burned and my fists were clenched so tight behind my back, that I felt blood rush down my wrists as my nails pierced my skin. I clenched my teeth to keep from screaming in a blind rage.

I used my teeth again after taking a deep breath and bit my way slowly through the rope that tied the box to my leg. Before I ripped through it, the rope fell down my leg and the box fell open on the floor. I saw a flash of light come from the box before I heard a light clanging noise. I look up to make sure they didn’t hear, but they were still talking.

I squinted at the floor, trying to see the object. As the car continued down the highway, the light from a streetlight slowly filled the car and first I saw a shining black object. I smirked.

I crawled closer to the knife and another light shines into the car, and I recognized the inscription immediately. I felt my confidence in a warm, exhilarating rush of energy.

I leaned over and grabbed the knife with my teeth quickly and placed it between my feet. I knew what my next move was, but I knew how painful it would be. I decided to hold my breath and take my chance.

I sit up and slowly try to bring my hands underneath me from behind and bring them under my legs. I soon discovered that the movement put more strain on me than I expected and I decided to do it in one quick shot.

I managed to bring my arms forward under my legs. I felt and heard the cracks in my arms, but it quickly turned to relief because it ended up that it just cracked my shoulders instead of damaging them like I thought. The ropes on my arms pulled at my wrists a little too much because I saw my wrists and forearm turn purple. I sighed and continued to bring my arms around my legs. Knife in feet, I slowly cut the rope on my wrists so as to not drop the knife, and I cut myself loose. I was free now, but I had to come up with a plan to stop them without crashing the car.

_*Zuko*_

The three of us decided to head back to Nick’s place, and we told her mom that she went home with her other friend. Of course, she asked why and individually asked me if she and Cody had a fight, but I told her that everything was fine. She had gotten a phone call that the dance was over and that there was an emergency but nothing else. She was annoyed that she hadn’t come straight home, but she got over it and said that she’d better be home within the hour.

All of us sat in her room and called all of the parents and asked to have a giant sleepover, guys with me and girls with Nick. They asked me why, and I responded with, “You want to know as soon as she gets back, right?” None of them argued.

“Zuko...” she said sighing. She took my arm gently. “We know you want to help but-”

“Look, I know you guys are miserable and nervous right now, but she’s coming back. You have to trust me.” I said.

Mei shook her head and went back to sitting on her bed and biting her nails. Lily was staring out the window into the dark, rainy nighttime sky. Mike was leaning against the wall with his head down and face expressionless.

Cody was sitting on her couch.... But that’s it. He hadn’t moved or said a word since we came home. He just kept staring at the floor with no feeling in his face at all. His eyes are dazed and red, and other than his breathing, there weren’t any other signs of life. It was painful to watch so I tore my eyes away.

I slumped down to the floor and put my face in my hands. What have I done? We were supposed to work to together. We were supposed to have each other’s backs. She had mine, but I let her down. I knew she was going to come back. I could feel it.

Just then, the doorbell rang.

All of us jumped up and raced to the door, but Cody was the first one down, pushing past everyone else. Nick’s mom answered the door, but she gave us a weird look when she saw the shape Nick was in.

The first reaction was Cody hugging her. I didn’t even get a glance at her before he nearly tackled her. Her mom and the rest of us laughed while Mei chorused, “Aww!” with Lily.

“Never do that to me again,” Cody whispered in her ear. I was the only one paying attention, so I was the only one that heard.

When Cody was done, Mei jumped on top of her, actually knocking her onto the floor.

When that was over with, Mike gave her a high-five.

“I gotta hand it to ya. You kick ass.” She laughed and hugged him quickly, too.

While they talked, I looked her over a few times. Her dress was full of mud and her face had dirt all over it. Her hair was soaking wet from the rain. Her feet were brown with mud, and her legs, arms, and cheeks had some cuts and bruises. The front of her hair was stained red with blood with some dripping down the side of her face and some falling slowly down her forehead. I stepped closer to her and took off the sweater I’d put on when we got back. I gently dabbed the blood on her face, and she looked up at me and smiled.

“Thank you,” she whispered to me.

“No. Thank you.”

“Welcome back, Nick,” her mom said. “Everyone was really worried about you.”

I quickly wrapped my sweater around her arms and draped the hood over her face to hide the blood, at least.

“Did you slip and fall?” she asked Nick. “You need to be more careful!” she said looking at the bruises on her legs.

“I’m fine,” she said dismissively. She’s always tripping on the sidewalks and falling up the stairs anyway.

She raced up the stairs as her mom yelled to her to put alcohol and Band-Aids on the cuts. She went straight to her room, and as soon as Lily shut the door with all of us inside, she dropped to her knees. Luckily, Cody was already at her side and caught her before her face hit the floor. He leaned her upper body back and we all picked her up and laid her on the bed. She was conscious but obviously weak. She looked up at all of us.

“Mind if I tell you everything tomorrow?” she breathed.

“Of course not,” I said. “Just get some rest.”

“Hey, Cody...” she said.

“Yeah?”

She reached for his hand, but she was too weak to grab it. He sat down on the bed next to her. He reached for her hand and held it, gently soothing it with his finger. She pressed his hand to her cheek.

“Thank you.” And she fell asleep.

Cody’s face turned a fiery red, smiling at Nick.

All of us slowly creeped out of the room and let Cody sit there watching her.


	7. Fear

Chapter Seven: Fear

_*Zuko*_

After a few minutes of silence, Cody walked into my room with a smile on his face that I’d never seen before. And judging by the looks of everyone else, they hadn’t either.

“Well...?” Mei asked.

Cody just shook his head with a low chuckle. “Nothing,” he said simply with the same expression.

“Sure...” Mike said.

“Really, I mean it. Nothing happened.” He sat on the bed and looked out the window with the same smile on his face.

“Dude….” Mike said.

“I told you already. Nothing happened. Really, I mean it. I just...” He stopped for a second to think. “I’m just so relieved she’s okay.”

“All of us are,” I said. “She saved all of us.”

He looked down, and his smile left his face. “I was the one they used. If it was anyone else, maybe I’d be the one in her position right now.... Maybe I wouldn’t have even come that far.” He stopped and looked at us. “If anything happened to her, it would have been my fault.” He looked down again and didn’t say anything. Neither did anyone else.

I sighed and put my hand on his shoulder. “First of all, you’re a pretty brave kid,” I said, smiling. He still didn’t look up. “Second, she would have done that for any of us. I know that for a fact.”

“Even me?” Mike asked.

“I wouldn’t,” Mei commented. Mike rolled his eyes.

“And third, she wanted to do that the whole time. I kept holding her back at first, but then when you were brought up there. She really cares about you. It reminds me of how Mai and I cared for each other.” At this, he looked up at me with a questioning look. “Similar things have happened to Mai and I way back when.”

He smirked, and it slowly turned into that new smile he had. He just looked at me for a minute before I said, “You have something... special.”

By that point, everyone was visibly exhausted. Cody suggested we get some sleep and everyone agreed.

“Night, Zuko,” Mei said.

“Goodnight,” I said, hugging her tightly. I then whispered in her ear, “I will always protect you.” She gently pulled away from me and looked at me. “I promise.”

She threw herself into me again and said, “I’ve never had someone who cared about me this much before. Not even my parents.” She pulled tighter on the last word.

I pulled her in close to me and I held her face in my hands, making her look me in the eyes, dead on. “I will _never_ let you go.”

_*Nick*_

“Shh! You don’t want to wake her up!” Lily said in a whisper, somewhat loudly. I groaned.

“She’s awake!” Mei said.

“Quiet! You don’t want everyone coming back in here, do you?” Lily asked her.

She ignored her and came to the side of the bed. I opened my eyes slowly. “Hey, guys,” I said. My voice cracked with hoarseness.

“How are you feeling?” Mei asked me.

“I’ve been through a lot.” I said, my voice weakening.

“Do you want some water or something?” Lily said.

“That’d be nice.” She left the room and Mei continued questioning me.

“I won’t ask what happened, ‘cause you said you’d explain tomorrow... but I do want to know!”

“You have to wait like everyone else. I really don’t have the energy, Mei.”

“What happened when Cody was in here? Did he-?”

“No, Mei,” I told her as sternly as I could manage. “The moment was perfect nevertheless.”

She gave me a half smile, and Lily came back into the room.

“Did I miss something again?” Lily asked.

“No, Lily. Mei’s just being a bitch.”

Mei shot me a lot and Lily just mumbled something under her breath.

At breakfast, Cody tapped me on the shoulder. I was a little anxious about talking to him after last night. He nodded his head to the back door, and we got up and went outside.

It was a cool, slightly breezy morning, moist from the heavy rain the night before. The sun was shining bright above the horizon. Cody led me to the back of the yard where no one could see us.

I smiled at him, nervously, and he smiled back.

“I... Do you want to know the truth?” he asked. I hesitated but nodded. He looked away from me, speaking gently and slowly, choosing his words carefully. “I like you... a lot. And, I have for a long time now. And, I know you know this already, but I wanted you to know something else to. I was talking to Zuko and he was the one who told me that you’d want to hear this.” He breathed and then continued. “Yeah... It’s true that when you made it clear that you just wanted to be friends with me... it hurt. I was in pain.” He stopped and looked at me. “But then... I don’t know. Something changed after awhile.”

“You’re right. Something did change,” I said. “I liked you back. I really did, even in the beginning. I was just so torn because I... Well... You’re more special to me than you know. Trust me,” I said with a light chuckle. He watched my every movement and listened so intently, it was like he was nervous about what I was trying to say. “After everything you’ve done for me... I was still selfish,” I confessed. “I wanted to keep you in my life as long as possible, and I was afraid a relationship could ruin what we have. But I‘ve came to realize... I’m miserable without you. I just didn’t want to lose you if it ended badly. And I’m sorry. Not only did you help me, but I continued to just leave it the way it was when in reality... I really did want to be with you.” I paused and took a shuddering breath. “I’m so sorry. And if you don’t forgive me, I understand.” I looked at the ground, unable to have the strength to take his rejection.

I felt his hand on my shoulder, and when he left it there, I looked up and saw him look at me with the same face I’d always known... but it had sincerity written all over it. He gripped me in a hug that was strong and relieved.

“Thank _you_ ,” he told me. “Thank you for everything.”

_*Zuko*_

_“Thank you, Katara.”_

_“I think I’m the one who should be thanking you.”_

I wondered how Katara was doing.

I was sitting there staring out my window, watching the rain fall. I gave up my life that day to save her. I realized that I didn’t do it to show that I could take Azula’s blow. I truly did it because I wanted to show Katara that I was a good person. She was a challenge in my life... a problem I wanted to solve. I wanted to prove to her that I could be a good person inside. And then she saved me and trusted me at last.

Nick brings back all the memories of Katara I shared.

They have the same pure blue eyes. They glow and sparkle with every emotion she has. And Nick shares Katara’s determination and kindness. When Nick gave herself up for Cody.... it reminded me of when I gave myself up for Katara.

“Zuko...?” I turned around to see Nick standing in the doorway. She had her arms folded awkwardly and one leg crossed over the other, leaning against the door. “Can we... talk?”

I patted the bed and she walked over slowly and sat next to me. She yawned and closed her eyes for a second.

“Tired?”

“Just a little.” I put my arms around her and let her rest her hand on my shoulder. I rubbed my hand gently on her back, soothing her.

“You wanted to talk?”

“I wanted to ask you what happened once I left at the dance.”

I grimaced before speaking. “Well, we tried to find the research you did and realized that you had found something important.” When she gave me a confused look, I added, “Mike knew the password.” Her eyes widened for a brief moment but she recovered quickly. “I think what you found pretty much says it all.”

She nodded. “I was going to tell you guys after the dance. That was why I was piecing together an email to send all of you before everyone got to the house.”

I sighed. “My uncle told me that I was destined for great things. I never thought he meant this.”

“We’re supposed to lead everyone together, aren’t we?”

“I think we are.” I told her. She yawned as I spoke. “You need to get to bed,” I told her. “You’re exhausted.”

“Yeah.... Oh well,” she said with a chuckle. I gazed out the window, and we paused for a minute, looking at the falling rain. Nick broke the silence. “Isn’t it amazing how it’s only been about a week and we’re so close? And you and Mei, too. You should ask her out.”

“You think so? Does she even like me back that much?”

“Trust me. She likes you,” she said, smirking. “After you go to bed at night, I text her, and she can’t stop talking about you. It’s Zuko this, and Zuko that, and ‘Oh my God,’” she said in a great imitation of Mei, “‘We almost kissed at the dance!’ Cue screeching noises.”

“I’d love to ask her out. But...” I stopped and looked down.

“But what? You think she deserves better than you?” I felt a knot in my stomach. “Or do you think that because you killed your own sister that you’re afraid you’ll hurt her too? Or you’re afraid that when you go back... home,” she said the word with distaste in her tone, “you’ll never be able to see each other again, and you say that you don’t want to hurt her, but really you don’t think you can handle another loss?”

“I think it’s everything you just said.”

“But Zuko, you and I know more than anyone else that you only live once.” She paused for a minute as we both took that in. “And if we only live once, why shouldn’t we enjoy it? Go out with her and have some fun. Give her and yourself the opportunity that would normally be physically impossible.”

“But I can’t do any of that to her. I can’t hurt her.”

“Just stop, okay?” she said louder, standing up. “You’re not leaving, so you can’t hurt her anyway.”

I stood up too. “But what about when we find a way to get back? What then, Nick? What then?”

“You make the choice. You make the choice to stay with us.” Her tone was even but stern.

“But Nick, I have a family. I have my mom and my uncle. I’m not going to leave them behind.”

“Zuko, I know you’ve only been with us for a short time, but can’t you see how close we’ve become? And what about the others too?”

“Am I supposed to just leave my family behind then?”

At that, she stopped. She swallowed and looked away. “I just...”

“You just what, Nick? You just what?”

I saw her clench her eyes shut, and she turned away from me. I heard a small sob and was about to reach out to her. But she pulled away and ran.

I followed her downstairs, calling her name. On the way down, I tripped and fell down the rest of the way. I landed on my stomach and the wound on my chest from Azula was still healing. When I finally managed to sit up, I looked out the open door.

She was gone.

_*Nick*_

I ran into the night through the pouring rain. I ran and ran, never running out of breath. But where was I going to go?

The rain started to mingle with the tears that had fallen on my face. I wanted so badly to just run home or go somewhere just to cry. But now I knew that wasn’t an option. I had already left, and I wasn’t going back.

I hated this.

I hated Zuko.

But mostly… I hated myself.

I finally passed down a few blocks and made my way towards Mei’s house. She would be caring enough to comfort me, at least.

I got to her house in about five minutes, and rather than go right in the front door, I didn’t want to wake her parents or anyone else, so I decided I would try to get to her bedroom window.

The tree next to her house was a big help. I jumped on the railing of the front porch and threw myself head-first into the tree. I managed to grab what I thought was only the first branch, but I soon realized there was one just below me, so I let go and balanced myself on the branch. I almost slipped, but I used the branch above me to balance myself again.

I jumped up, this time, grabbing the tree trunk, and boosted myself up to the second branch. At this height, I knew that if I fell, I’d break a leg.

I looked up and saw that the ledge in front of her window was just above me. I jumped up, and grabbed onto it, only to have one hand slip. I used all the strength I had left and grabbed back onto it. I pulled myself up and leaned against the side of the house. I peered in the window between the part in her curtains, only to see and hear a screaming fight going on between Mei and her mom. With a sigh, I started to climb back down.

They had fights like that all the time. And most of the time, it involved her dad and sometimes even her brother. I felt so bad for her, and right now, I wanted nothing more than to open the window and sit next to her, so we could cry together. But if her mom caught sight of me, I’d only make matters worse.

I stood up on the front lawn of her house, brushed away the tears and started into the night again. The rain was pouring down even harder than before.

I tried to keep running, but I could barely move. I walked and walked, barely aware of where I was headed. When I stopped, I looked up and saw Cody’s house. His bedroom light, as well as the rest of the house was dark.

_*Zuko*_

I quickly ran back into her room and looked briefly for her cell phone. I picked it up and decided to call Mei.

“Hello...?” she said, groggily.

“Mei, it’s Zuko. Nick’s gone. She’s not by you, is she?”

“She’s what?” she paused. “No, she’s not here. What happened?”

“We got into an argument, and she took off. I have no idea where she could be. What do I do? What if something happens to her? I’m such an idiot!” I said, slamming my head against the wall.

“Zuko, stop! Look, you need to calm down. We’ll find her. And she’s a smart girl. She’ll come back. We just need to know where to look. Start calling the others. I’ll head out.”

“Okay. Keep your cell phone on you to keep in touch.”

“I will. And Zuko...?”

“Yeah?”

“Be careful.”

“You too.” Both of us hung up. I decided the best idea was to run...fast.

A few minutes later, I arrived at Mike’s place, and I peered into each window, trying to find which room was his. When I found it, I saw him sleeping with his mouth open, drooling on a game controller. I pounded hard on the glass, and I must have startled him because he jumped out of the bed quicker than I would’ve thought.

“What? Who’s there?” he said, arming himself with the controller.

“Zuko?” He came over to the window and had to look at me hard to figure out who I was. I pulled back the hood of the sweatshirt. He turned on the light and opened the window. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

“May I just point out that I’m not the one using a game controller as my first line of defense.” He looked down and threw the remote to his bed. He muttered a curse at me. “Look, just shut up and get out here. Nick’s gone.”

“What?” he said, eyes wide. “You’re kidding me, right?”

I shook my head.

Mike rubbed his face with his hands. “I’m coming with you.” He leaned down and grabbed a jacket, climbing out the window. “She won’t be at Mei’s house, but I’m assuming you already tried that.”

I raised an eyebrow at him.

“If you had a fight with her, she’d want someone’s opinion other than Mei’s, right?” I shrugged. “Then she probably went to Cody.”

“How do you know?”

“I may not show it, but unlike you,” he said, wrinkling his nose, “I care.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. He glared at me. “Do you have something to say?”

“I don’t need to. You making her run away like this is all you need to see.”

I sighed. “You’re right.” He looked surprised when I agreed with him. “You know her much better than I do. But I do care about her. We just need to find her.”

He put a hand on my shoulder. “It’s alright. She’ll be okay.”

_*Nick*_

I woke up feeling sore. I rubbed my eyes and stretched. When I looked around, someone was sitting on the couch.

Cody stood up and walked over to the bed. “So...” he said, “You wanna tell me what happened to you?”

I pulled back the blanket and threw my legs over the side of the bed. I realized I was in dry clothes; a sweater and sweatpants. “It’s a long story.”

“I’ve got time.”

“You always do,” I said. I ushered for him to sit next to me. “Zuko and I had a fight last night.... He said that he didn’t feel like we were close enough to be family. I just... I thought...” I stopped, wiping the tears away.

After that, he just hugged me and let me get everything out. He didn’t say one word the whole time, just letting me cry and cry. I was just happy that he was here to stay by my side.

I gently pulled away and wiped away the tears again. I was a mess, and he knew it but didn’t say anything of it.

“You don’t have to do this, you know,” I said.

“I know. But I want to.”

“Just staying here with me means the world to me you know.”

“I figured you’d say that.”

I looked up at him and he was smiling, as always.

Just then, I heard footsteps pounding up the stairs.

In an instant, his bedroom door swung open.

“Nick!”

“Zuko, Mike,” I said standing up.

I turned and faced Cody who was just starting to get up off the bed. His eyebrows were furrowed, his eyes were squinted, and he was glaring at Zuko.

_*Nick*_

“You.” Cody stood up and glared at Zuko with an intense hatred in his eyes. I’d never seen him this angry before.

“Cody, it’s alright.” I tried to say.

“No it’s not. He almost got you killed! If I hadn’t woken up, you would’ve...” He paused, getting a hold of himself. “You would have died!” He clenched his hands into tight fists, making his knuckles turn white.

“Cody, please…”

“No! I’ve had it!” Cody stormed up to Zuko and aimed a fist toward his face, but Zuko caught his fist in his hand. Cody went to punch him with the other hand, but Zuko caught that one too. Then I saw Zuko’s hands start to turn red... really red, followed closely by Cody’s arm turning red as well.

“Stop it! Both of you!” I said, ripping Zuko’s hands off Cody. I pulled him back and Mike pulled back Zuko. “Both of you are being ridiculous!”

“But he hurt you!” Cody protested.

“That’s not his fault though,” I said, trying to reason. “It was my choice to go, not his.”

“But he pushed you to do that! Just like Lily pushed you to-!” but he stopped himself when he saw how horrified I was.

“You what?” Zuko asked, his voice hollow.

“It’s over now, so there’s nothing to worry about.” I said quickly.

“Did she hurt you?” Mike said, his eyes wide.

I shook my head, but Cody pulled my hands off of him and grabbed my wrist tight in his hand and held it out to them. I wearily looked at the scars, thinking about the pain that I went through what felt like so long ago. They had never fully healed, and they shared the red-purple color of the scar on Zuko’s face. Cody looked from my face to the scars and back again.

“You’re right,” he said. “These scars are too old to be recent.” He dropped my hand. And I rubbed my wrist. He looked down. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.”

Mike crossed the room and looked at me. “Lily did this to you?”

I shook my head, but Cody interrupted. “She might as well have.”

Mike looked from Cody and back to me and I looked away. “Nick…. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“It was a long time ago.”

“When it happened?”

“Because I didn’t believe her.” Cody said. I looked over to see Mike and Zuko glaring at Cody now.

“You what?” Zuko said. “Aren’t you supposed to be the one that’s been there for her? Didn’t you help her when she was going through all of that?”

“No… I didn’t.”

“And you didn’t think once to tell me?” Mike said, sternly.

“I didn’t believe it myself, and it wasn’t my secret to tell.”

Mike looked at me again. “I really wish you had told me. I had no idea.”

“I didn’t want to ruin your relationship,” I said weakly.

He shook his head at me. “Friends come first.”

I nodded but didn’t say anything.

Zuko stepped forward now. I looked up at him but didn’t say anything. Then, he swept me into a tight hug. “I’m so sorry. You were right.”

I shook my head and pulled back. “I shouldn’t have run away.”

“It’s alright though,” he said, putting his hand on my shoulder. “We’re here for you now.” Mike came over and put his hand on my other shoulder.

I smiled up at them and felt my eyes water. “Thank you guys….” And I was pulled into a big group hug.

“Sorry to break this up,” Zuko said with a cough, “but there’s something I gotta do.”

Mike punched his arm. “Go get her.”

_*Zuko*_

When I got to Mei’s house, I went up and knocked on the front door. When she answered, she looked at me like I was crazy.

“You shouldn’t be here!” she hissed. “My parents are asleep but if they find out you’re here….”

“I need to talk to you.” I said firmly.

She sighed and let me in. She led the way to her room and carefully shut the door.

“Did you find her?” she asked impatiently.

“Yeah, she was at Cody’s house.” She breathed a sigh of relief. “And she was right about something.” Mei looked at me, confused. I took a breath before continuing. “Part of the argument was last night was about you.”

She furrowed her eyebrows at me. “Why?”

“I realized that someday I might have to make a choice…. I’ll have to decide to stay here or go home.”

Mei looked down. “Nick didn’t like your answer.”

“No, I didn’t give her an answer.” She looked up at me again. “She was angry because she thought the decision for me should have been easy, especially because of you.”

Mei swallowed. “Look, I know you like me, but if it’s a choice between staying here or going home, I understand.” she said slowly. “You have a family you love, and a country to protect. I’m just one girl.”

“But you’re not just one girl. Not to me.” I said, taking her hands in mine. “I’ve been running away from my problems too. The truth is… I love you… but I was too afraid of losing you after everything….” I trailed off, trying to find the words to explain all that kept me from her. But when I looked back at her, she closed the space between us.

Her kiss was just the way I had imagined, and I felt the fire in my heart I once did with Mai. But this was different; I felt warmer inside like a cold draft had finally stopped.

I kissed her back, holding her face in my hands and hers around my neck. When we finally parted, she buried her face into my shoulder and hugged me.

As we held each other there, my mind drifted back to my home. I didn’t know whether or not I could ever go back. If Mei would come with me, I would go in a heartbeat. But I couldn’t leave her now; my feeling had finally surfaced.

The messenger hawk only returns to the place from which it has come from.

I pulled back from Mei and shook my head. She gave me a worried look. “What’s wrong?”

“I… I think I remembered something,” I said. “I heard my uncle just now.”

Her eyes widened and she grabbed her cell phone. “We better get to Nick’s house. I’ll text the others and tell them to meet us there.”


	8. Dive

Chapter Eight: Dive

_*Nick*_

“Lily and Cody are out back. Come on.” I led Mike to the backyard. The pool was open as it had been a while ago when I’d first found Zuko. I told Cody and Lily to wait in the tree house, so Mike and I climbed up.

“Mei and Zuko should be here soon,” I told them, reading the text from Mei. “She said that Zuko has something to tell us.”

“Probably that they’re dating,” Mike says.

I rolled my eyes. “No, it’s something important.” I shook my head. “Well that is too, but you know what I mean.”

 A short while later, the two showed up holding hands.

Mike folded his arms. “Told ya.”

Zuko and Mei climbed up and crammed themselves into the treehouse with us. It was a tight squeeze now that we were older and we added a person, but we managed.

“I think my uncle was trying to tell me something,” Zuko said.

“How is that possible?” I said.

“After what happened at the palace, I didn’t know if he got out okay because after that, I left. But I heard his voice in my head earlier with a weird metaphor of some kind.

“What was it?” Cody asked.

“The messenger hawk only returns to the place from which it has come from.”

“Yeah, that sounds like something he would say,” Mei said, rolling her eyes. “How are we supposed to figure that out?”

“I think I know what it is,” I said. Zuko turned to me. “It means you have to go back the way you came.”

Mei looked to Zuko, her eyes wide. He looked back to me. “You want us to drown ourselves?”

“Sucks for you, bitches!” said a voice from behind us. I turned around and saw Ray with Brie, Matt and Chad standing behind us.

Ray had slightly darker hair than mine, covering his green-gray eyes. Matt was all smiles tall as ever... even taller than Mei and Zuko. Chad’s short brown hair was freshly cut, and he looked as if he finally decided to shave again. And Brie was with them, her soft brown eyes glimmering, and her brown ribbons of hair bouncing around as she walked. I hadn’t really gotten to hang out with my other friends since Zuko showed up, and it wasn’t until then that I’d realized how much I missed them.

I ran up to Ray and hugged him. He patted me on the back before letting me go. “What are you guys doing here?”

“We thought we’d surprise you,” Matt said. “We saw you briefly at the dance…. But then all the chaos happened and we were worried about you.”

“What even happened?” Brie asked, her eyes shining. “Were you kidnapped or in trouble or something?”

I looked to Zuko who had a nervous look on his face, as if to ask if I trusted them enough. The others came down from the treehouse too and started greeting the others.

Ray turned to Zuko and narrowed his eyes. “Is this the cousin I’ve been hearing about?” he said, pointing a thumb in his direction. Zuko wasn’t wearing his sunglasses since we’d thought we’d be alone.

“Yeah, this is Ash. He’s my cousin from Japan.”

Matt walked up to him and offered a handshake. “Pleasure,” he said with a smile. Zuko shook his hand a little hesitantly.

“Nope, not buying it,” Ray said, folding his arms. “Who is this guy?”

I swallowed. “Well, I’m really glad you guys came, but we were actually just leaving.”

“Where are you going?” Brie asked.

“I… umm….”

“Dude, is that a scar?” Chad said, walking up to him.

Matt smacked him in the head. “Don’t be rude.” he said turning to Zuko. “Sorry about him.”

Zuko held up his hands. “No, no need to apologize.”

“What the _hell_?” Ray said suddenly. I looked over to him. “This is Zuko!” My eyes widened. “What’s he doing here?”

“Whoa, back up a sec,” Chad said. “As in, _the_ Zuko? Like he’s from the show?”

Brie looked at him, her eyes wide. “He looks just like him!”

“That’s because it is him….” I said slowly.

“I knew it!” Ray said, pumping a fist in the air. “Mike, you’ve been hanging out with Zuko?” he said excitedly.

Mike shrugged. “You know I didn’t really watch it much. It wasn’t big deal to me.”

“What are you talking about? He’s a fricken cartoon character! How is it not a big deal?”

“Anyway....” Matt started again. “Let’s say we believed you… then what does it have to do with anything?”

“Because we’re about to go into his world,” Mike stated. Matt froze, Brie smirked, Chad’s jaw dropped, and Ray shrugged.

“I’m in.” Ray stated.

“Fair enough,” Mike said. “You guys coming? Or are you too scared to go?”

“Why should we be scared?” Chad asked. “Isn’t the war over?”

“Not exactly.” Zuko said. “I ended up here because Azula attacked us.” When he got some weird looks he added, “That’s the short version. We’re going after who... or _what_ ever my uncle is having trouble with now. I think he was trying to contact me.”

“But...” Mei started to say. “Azula’s dead. Who would be starting the trouble now?”

“I don’t know,” he said, cracking his knuckles.

“Let’s kick some ass!” Brie said, fist raised. Everyone just stared at her for a minute. “What? This sounds like fun!”

“I’ve always wondered what it would be like jumping into a cartoon....” Matt said.

“And I love the show!” Chad said. “Screw it. I’ve got nothing better to do,” he said, shrugging.

“But you guys have to understand how dangerous this is. All of you,” I said, looking each of them in face. “This isn’t just some video game where you have multiple lives. If something goes wrong... it’s real.”

“I’m in,” Ray said again.

“Let’s do this, then,” Mike said.

“Alright.... everybody grab hands.” I said. We circled up around the pool, with the rest of the group giving me a weird look. “Just play along guys, and this might actually work.” I took a deep breath. “Alright. On two, take a breath. On three, we jump.”

“Into the water?” Matt shrieked.

“On three. One… Two…” We jumped.

The first thing I felt was warm water against my skin. But as we all sank to the bottom with our combined weight, something changed.

In a flash of light, everything turned black. The water disappeared and we all held hands, free-falling. All of us screamed together as we fell into darkness. But as soon as it started, it stopped, and landed with a thud. We opened our eyes to see that we were face-down in sand. We stood up and dusted ourselves off.

“Everyone okay?” I asked, shaking.

Everyone started to get up and I did a quick head count. I looked around and realized that we were missing someone.

“Where’s Chad?”

“Oh come on!” I looked into the water to see that he was drenched. I laughed. “Hey! It’s not funny!”

“Yeah it is! Mr. Clean Cut just got a taste of water rather than dry clean!” Mike said. Everyone else couldn’t stop laughing either.

“Zuko, what beach are we at?” Mei asked.

He looked out over the water. “Ember Island. The palace is over there.” He pointed out into the distance on the water, and I saw a small speck.

“Anybody got a boat?” Cody asked.

“There should be one in the hut over here. This is my beach house.”

“Then grab it so we can find your uncle.” Cody said.

“And find out what’s going on.”

_*Zuko*_

For the next few hours, we collected all of the supplies and Nick knew exactly what we needed: food, water, a boat, weapons, et cetera. All of us worked hard to get everything ready, but some of us were a little uneasy.

Nick and I found the old warehouse in the back my beach house where the guards kept their weapons. We also went into the house and used whatever we could find.

For Nick, she picked out Mai’s old shurikens. She polished them and practiced with them, throwing them at various trees and bushes for hours. She had also brought the knife I gave her at the dance. When I became Firelord and the war was over, I invited the little boy and his family to the palace, and he decided that it would be best for me to keep the knife, so I gave it to Nick.

I thankfully kept my duel swords at the beach house because I had no use for them anymore. Those, I gave to Cody, and I taught him all of the basic moves. He caught on pretty quickly, so he and Nick practiced their fighting together.

For Mike, I found two sais. Oddly enough, he wasn’t lying about wanting to be a ninja or whatever. He knew how to use them pretty well before I even taught him, but after I gave him a few pointers, it was like he knew how to use them all his life.

Ray, Chad and Matt’s were the easiest weapons to find. With only Ray having watched anime, teaching them was not an easy task. For Ray, I found a small dagger, with a sharp edge and a spear with a steel blade attached at the head. After the war was over, the Dai Li of Bai Sing Sei were forced to open up Lake Laogi once again to release everyone who was down there. I went there to find what was left of the place, but when I got there, it was closed off for good. The Earth King then handed me two tiger head hooks. I recognized them immediately and held onto them for safe-keeping. I figured that these would be sufficient enough for Chad. Matt’s weapons consisted of a belt carrying five small smoke bombs, three stink bombs, and a small dagger just in case.

Lily and Brie’s weaponry was a little more difficult. The three of us wore dark cloaks, and we went to the Ember Island Black Market together. I picked out a steel fan set for Lily, crafted from the Kyoshi Warriors after the war was over and shipped to the Fire Nation, and for Brie, I found a light-weight steel sword. It was crafted in an odd way, making the blade slightly curved, but it worked perfectly for Brie’s style of fighting. I had to give them step by step instructions on how to fight. They did well enough, but I was a little worried about how Lily would make out.

Finally, I had to give Mei weapons, much to my dismay. She insisted on fighting, so I decided to give her something that would fit best. When I was on my own and without my uncle, my weapons consisted of more than just the duel swords. I kept a set of bows and arrows with me under my clothes, just in case. It was something I was given by my mother, long before I even knew how to fight. She had used them herself when she was a young girl, due to having Avatar Roku for a grandfather, he had wanted her to be able to fend for herself, should the need arise. She wanted me to be able to defend myself in the time of war like my great-grandfather, so she passed them onto me. The bow was made of cherry blossom wood and the arrow feathers were that of a Raven Eagle. The head of the arrows were silver, shining gloriously in the sun. Mei loved it, and so I taught her the art, myself.

When night fell, we decided to call it a day and wait until the following night, so we could plan our attack and get in some more practice. We didn’t know what we would be up against or who might have taken my place after I was gone. So we decided to play it safe.

Nick and Brie shared one room, Lily and Mei were in another, Cody and I were in the third, Chad and Ray shared the fourth, and Mike and Matt shared the fifth.

We all rummaged through my old stuff and found suitable Fire Nation clothes for everyone. I luckily found my old outfit from the time I spent in the Western Air Temple with the rest of the group.

Later on, I had woken up in the middle of the night and left the house. I looked up at the full moon in the nighttime sky. I sat down on a large rock that Nick had been practicing on and looked out over the water.

My home... my family... my throne.... In just a short time, all of that was taken away from me... again. I didn’t know what tomorrow would bring, and I could even lose it all. I didn’t know what to do, how to protect the others, or how to guild them safely through tomorrow. After everything that happened, it could all come to a crashing halt. If something were to happen, I-

I suddenly stopped my thoughts. I heard something rustling in the bushes behind me.

“Who’s there?” I called out, using fire-daggers. It felt good to firebend freely again.

No response came, so I called out louder this time. “I said, ‘Who’s there?’”

“Still the hot-tempered prince you were when we last met, are we? Such a shame.” A figure stepped out from the bushes and slowly walked toward me, shaking his head.

“Who are you?”

“’Who are you?’ No,sir. That is not the question you should ask. It is, ‘who am I?’”

“Wait... Pathik?” I blinked twice and rubbed my eyes. As he came closer, his face with lit with the light of the full moon. His beard had grown much longer since the last time I saw him, yet he was still the old guru I remembered. “What you doing here?” I asked. I ran up to him and hugged him. At first, his body was rigid in shock, but he quickly returned the embrace.

“Ah. I see that you have indeed grown up since the last time we saw each other.”

“Yes, sir. I believe that I have.”

“You’ve journeyed far beyond this world now, haven’t you?”

I tensed. “You can sense the change in me, can’t you?”

“It is not about change, but it is about realizing who you truly are.”

“Thank you, Pathik.” I hesitated but speaking. “I do have something to tell you. You remember the vision that you had about me when I first met you, don’t you?”

“Indeed I do.”

“It came true. It was exactly as you described, too.”

“I had a feeling I’d be right, in the end.” Pathik sat down in lotus position on the rock next to me. We sat there for a while in a comfortable silence.

“If you don’t mind me asking, Sir, why are you here now?”

“I came here to warn you of the happenings of this world while you were gone.” I nodded, urging him to continue. “After you left, the kingdom of the Fire Nation was left without a Firelord and Firelady. I am very sorry for your loss, your highness.”

“Thank you.” I looked out over the water. “I finally think I’m able to say that I’ll be alright in the end.”

“As I knew you would be. However, when there wasn’t anyone left to rule, your sister took the throne.”

I turned to him, my eyes wide. “How? I thought…!” I let the sentence hang in air, in complete disbelief.

“That is where you are wrong. Your sister did not die when you attacked her. She merely fainted but was left with something.”

“With what?” I asked, hesitantly.

“A burn.” He paused letting the thought sink in. “She took the throne by storm. And I am afraid to say that her rule has been far worse than your father’s.”

I stopped for a moment and remembered something important. “Wait. Where are my mother and uncle?”

“They haven’t been seen since the day of the attack. No one knows for sure.” He stopped, but when he saw my anxiety, he spoke again. “But I have seen them in a vision, and they are indeed well.”

I breathed a heavy sigh.

“However,” he continued, “Azula’s first decree on the land... was to kill your father.”

I thought about it for a minute. But in the end, I honestly didn’t know how to react. I did know that however evil he was, Aang knew what was right in not killing him after all. Although as much as I hated him, it was still a human life taken away, and that took me by surprise.

“What else?”

“Your sister decided to hunt down every last one of the people in the Fire Nation that was part of the original rebellion that ended the war. The world has not gone to war yet, for it has been too short of a time for that; however, you must work quickly to prevent it because the pressures of war are indeed on the rise.”

“What about the Avatar?”

“I am happy to say that he and his... um... girlfriend, sent word that they were on their way to the Fire Nation. But it is a long journey from the South Pole, and I am worried that the Avatar may be too late.”

“So it’s up to us now?”

“If that is what you truly believe.”

“Thank you, Pathik. You’ve been a great help.”

“It is my honor to assist the rightful ruler of the Fire Nation.” He stood up with his walking stick and started down the beach. “And might I add.... You have a wonderful young lady awaiting you.” And with that, he continued down the beach, growing smaller and smaller. The wind picked up and I rubbed my eyes against the sand. When I looked back, he was gone.

I got up and started toward the house, feeling warm in my face. When I opened the front door, she was standing there.

“Zuko!” she said, shaking her head. “I was just coming to look for you. I figured you’d be out here.”

“Mei.” I looked into her eyes and took her hand lightly in mine. I led her out onto the deck, and I looked up at the full moon. She followed my gaze and we stood there, watching it for a minute, hand in hand. Then I turned to her and she looked back at me. I took both of her hands in mine. “Mei,” I repeated, “I need to tell you something. And I know you already know it, but... I love you. And if something happens to me tomorrow, I want you to know that I will always love you no matter what happens.” I pulled her close to me and pressed my lips hard on hers. She kissed me back, wrapping her arms gently around my neck. I pulled back gently and held her hands.

She replied, “I know. I love you too.”

“I have something for you.” I reached into the sling of my robes and pulled out the bracelet I’d made for Mei while on the beach today. It was made of small conch shells all the way around, and for the main charm, I had taken sand and burned it into a small, red, glass crystal.

“Oh! Zuko! It’s amazing!” She threw herself into my arms, hugging me. She pulled away and I took her wrist and tied it on. She held it up in the moonlight, admiring it. She kissed me again, “I love you.”

“I love you, too, Mei.”

_Later…_

The next morning, I woke up a little late and stretched. I heard Cody yawn in the bed across the room.

“Morning, Cody. Sleep well?”

“As well as anyone knowing that they could possibly die today.” I laughed a dark chuckle.

“You eventually get used to it.”

Both of us got up and got dressed. Cody wore a similar outfit to mine, the one from my days at the Western Air Temple. We walked into the maroon and wood themed beach-styled kitchen and saw everyone eating breakfast at the table. Mei was at the wood-burning stove cooking. I recognized the smell of cow-hippo meat immediately. It was my favorite morning meat.

“Good morning,” I said, kissing Mei on the cheek.

“Good morning!” She took the pan off the stole and led me to the table. She sat me at the head of everyone and put my food in a plate. “Nick! Is there something you’d like to say?”

“There sure is.” Nick stood up, mango juice in hand. Everyone else raised their glasses as well. “Zuko, we’d just like the say some things to you before what may or may not happen today.” She looked around the room. “Lily, you start.”

“Oh! Okay! Zuko, you’re crazy!” Everyone laughed. “You put yourself in danger for everyone at least once here, and you showed us what it really means to be a real friend. Thank you!”

“Mike….” Nick said.

“Dude, you’re awesome! Even though it was yours and Nick’s fault that those guys attacked us in the first place….” he said with a smirk. “But more than that, you’ve become a great friend. You finally taught me how to fight like a ninja, and you finally gave Mei a boyfriend! Now we can’t make fun of her anymore!” Everybody cracked up.

“Yup! He did!” and she ran over and kissed me on the lips.

“Anyway....” Nick continued. “Cody, it’s your turn,” she said, a smile on her face.

“Zuko, even though we started out with me being kinda jealous of you....” Everyone laughed at him. “I’d just like to say how grateful I am to have had you as a friend. You truly inspired all of us with how brave you were and how dedicated you were to all of us. You give a hell of a lot of great advice, and I’m grateful to say that I can call you my friend.” He smiled at me then nodded to Nick.

“Zuko... Oh boy.” She shook her head in mock disappointment. “Let me sum you up. You’re a lunatic that shot fire at my face when we first met, you come from a different world, yet you learned to fit in fine with everyone, and you gave me a reason to really love life again. You went above and beyond to save me and everyone else here, and you are the most amazing person I’ve ever met. And I love you, big brother.” She teared up at the end and raised her glass. “To tomorrow being the greatest victory of the Firelord!”

“And to some ass-whooping!” Brie added.

“To ass-whooping!” everyone cheered. Everyone laughed and smiled together, knowing that this could be the last time.

Just then, there was knock at the door.

All of us froze in place, not saying a word. I looked first at Mei, then at Nick. I got up with Nick, the others following us to the door, and we crouched down together.

“On three,” Nick said.

“One,” Mei started.

“Two,” I said.

“Three!” Cody shouted.

We flung open the door and all got into fighting stances. We were ready to attack when I heard the voice.

“Hi Firelord Zuko! It’s so great to see you again!”

“Ty Lee?” I was shocked. I couldn’t believe who I was seeing. There, standing in front of me, was Mai’s best friend, in her braid, pink outfit, and all. “What...? What are you doing here?” I ran up to her, and she bowed to me, and I bowed back, then hugged her.

“I was traveling with the other Kyoshi Warriors to the old Earth Kingdom colonies to free them, but then when Azula came back to power, the other girls urged me to run. They knew she’d come for me, so I fled, and I’ve been traveling alone ever since.”

“It’s so great to see you, Ty Lee. Everyone, this is Ty Lee. She was a friend of mine and Mai’s when we were kids and helped us with the rebellion.”

“Hey, Ty Lee!” Nick said. She bowed to her. “Nice to meet you.”

“You too! But Zuko, isn’t it dangerous for you to all be here? And where were you when Azula took over?”

“It’s a long story, but I’ll explain later. But all of us formed a small rebellion against Azula while we wait for Avatar Aang to show up.”

“Aang’s coming?” Nick shouted at me. Everyone in the room started whispering and getting excited. “Is Katara coming too?”

“Yes. And Appa will be with them, as well.”

“No way!” Mei yelled.

“You’re in my world now, so really you’re the odd ones out now.”

“Ty Lee, will you join us?” Nick asked her.

“You bet!”

“Listen up everyone!” I called in my Firelord voice. Everyone stopped talking but Mike.

“We are so gonna whoop them, and-” Then he stopped when he saw my expression. “Sorry, Mr. Fireball.”

“Anyway.... I have an idea. To practice for this afternoon, we’ll be holding a tournament! We’ll each be partnered up against one person and you’ll have to fight until one of you comes too close. You guys in?”

“Yeah!”

“Bring it on, Fuzzball!” Nick taunted to Mike.

“Oh I will.”

_*Nick*_

Each of us was given a sword to use instead of the weapon given to us, in case during the real thing, we had to disarm a guard and take their sword. Of course, Zuko and I helped everyone learn first. The first round was Me vs. Ray, Brie vs. Cody, Mei vs. Lily, and Mike vs. Chad. Matt decided to stay out of it.

I won my fight against Ray in a pretty challenging battle. He was a little clumsy, so I took total advantage of it. Cody won his fight against Brie, using shear agility, though it was very close. Mei won over Lily in a land slide. The fight hardly lasted twenty seconds. Mike and Chad’s fight was quite entertaining, as Mike kept taunting Chad, and teasing him about his clothes getting wet and him complaining about it the day before.

The second round was Mei vs. Me, and Mike vs. Cody.

Mei and I went head-to-head in a fast-paced duel. She used brute strength and heavily swung movements while I jabbed and flipped around her, dodging. In the end, I ended up rolling on the sand beneath her, and getting her pinned down from behind. Mike and Cody’s fight lasted awhile, with Mike using carefully précised swings and Cody dodging evasively. In the end, Cody front rolled to the right, but couldn’t get up quickly enough, and Mike got him down. Then it was time for the quarter finals.

Mike versus me.

“Fighters ready?” Zuko asked.

“Bring it,” I said. Mike just cocked his head back.

 “Begin!”

I had the first move planned before I even knew I’d be against him. I dove down and sliced at Mike’s legs, taking one out from underneath him. I dove forward, being sure to not let him take me down with him. He stumbled back for a second long enough for me to dive forward again and take out the second leg. However, this time he jumped up and rolled forward, landing on his feet. As he drove his sword down at me, I lashed mine up, causing the metal to clash, mid-air. I was on my back in the sand with Mike pushing down on my sword. I felt my arms crack, so I did the next best thing to fighting him off. I pushed my sword to the right, deflecting his to the left and jumped up behind him. When I thought he’d bent down to gain control of his sword again, he jabbed it straight up toward my face. It missed me by an inch, and I did a backhand spring to get away from it. But when I went to come up, I looked up right into Mike’s upside down face, only an inch from mine, with the cold metal blade touching the edge of my throat.

“That’s it!” Zuko called. “Mike wins!”

Mike and I were still in the same position. “Not bad, Mente,” he said, taking the blade off my neck.  I stood up straight again, and he held out his hand to me. “Not bad at all.”

“Same to you, Fuzzball.” I took his hand and he helped me up.

After that was over, all of us packed up and got on the boat with the supplies. We knew we could never be more ready, so we set sail for the main land.

“Ready to go home, Zuko?” I asked.

“No. But I am ready to fight.”


	9. Justice

Chapter Nine: Justice

_*Nick*_

The trip to the palace was... an interesting one.

Being dressed in typically Fire Nation clothes was a strange feeling. Mine was the exact outfit Katara wore in her days in the Fire Nation, but I cut the outer skirt to be more flexible when fighting, making it a basic red mini skirt, so it only came to my mid-thigh and took away brown one underneath. We found all of the outfits the gang wore because they used the beach house as storage now.

“Look at what I found!” Cody then took out two small weapons that I recognized immediately as nun chucks.

“Oh lord... Are they extension ones?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I’ll show you.” I took one of them from him, swung it over my head a few times and thrust it forward. The end of it extended out, and clocked Lily in the head.

“Ow! What was that?” Lily was wearing Toph’s Fire Nation outfit. We got rid of the red and yellow sash, leaving a red tank top, and red gauchos.

“Oops,” I said with a shrug. “That’s the extension part.”

“I see....”

“But if you wanna use em normally....” I took both handles and spun them around in small circles, going fast, making them look as if they were little circles in my hands.

“Sweet....”

“But now you have too many weapons to carry.”

“I’ll give the duel swords to Ray. He only had the spear and dagger anyway. Hey Ray!” Ray took his gaze away from the water as he paddled with Zuko, Mike, and Matt. He was wearing the outfit Chan wore in the episode “The Beach” when Zuko, Ty Lee, Mai, and Azula went to the party. He took one of Zuko’s belts to close up the front. “You want these? I got nun chucks!”

“Sweet! Thanks, buddy!”

Cody then continued practicing with his nun chucks. I looked around the boat at the other happenings of the area.

Chad wore an outfit very similar to the one Avatar Roku wore as a teenager. How we found something like that, I’ll never know.

If Chad had been in the group from the beginning, I could have seen him and Zuko becoming close friends. Chad doesn’t show it, but he had been through more problems than anyone I knew. He’s strong and kind-hearted and he’s made some bad choices in the past... just like Zuko. I really did see those two becoming fast friends, so I wasn’t surprised when I saw them talking things over.

I looked over to where Mike was sitting in the corner, sharpening his daggers. Matt went on and on about something or other, but Mike wasn’t listening.

Mike wore his black T-shirt and black denim jeans, but over it, he wore Zuko’s old red cloak. He said that was all he needed. Matt wore the school uniform and tied the belt around his head like Aang did as a small tribute. That was his wording, at least.

“Dude, I don’t know what you’re saying,” Mike started, “You wouldn’t shut up last night!”

“Well, I, uh... have a lot to talk about I guess. I mean you didn’t stop me so I kept going, and I,” but I stopped listening there. Mike face-palmed, and I laughed at the sight.

Mei and Lily were on the other end of the boat talking with Ty Lee. I figured they were talking about their boyfriends or something.

Mei wore the outfit Suki wore in the Fire Nation. It fit her really well, only we ripped off the collar, leaving a halter top.

I leaned back and let the water splash in my face. It felt good to be surrounded by the ocean. I then opened my eyes and noticed Brie doing the same next to me. She was wearing an old thing of Mai’s. It was similar to the way her usual outfit was, but I revamped it a little. I cut the neck so that it was parallel to the outer shirt, cut the sleeves so that they were skin-tight to her arms up to her mid forearm and ended, and then I ripped apart the bottom skirt to be much shorter and easier to fight in. She and I hate doing clothes and/or shopping, so this one outfit had to be perfect. So we worked on it together all morning.

“Hey, Brie?” She looked up at me lazily.

“Yeah, what’s up?”

“You know what I’m thinking, right?”

“What are you thinking?”

I sighed and looked away for a minute. “Something’s gonna go wrong. Something’s going to happen to one of us. I just don’t know who.”

“I know. But that’s part of the risk coming here. I’m coming, but if some of the others are getting scared, it’s not too late to turn around.”

“If it was up to me, I’d leave all of you behind and do this myself.”

“Well, we’re here, so we may as well do this. Besides, I’m not letting you get all the action,” she said with a smirk.

I laughed half-heartedly. “Yeah, yeah...”

“It’ll be okay.”

I look around the boat for a minute. Matt, Ray, Chad, Mike, Lily, Mei, Ty Lee, Zuko, Cody... and of course Brie... “Any one of them could be hurt... or not come home at all.”

Brie sighed. “Try not to think about it too much.”

“Nick, you’re ridiculous.” I recognized the snide comment immediately as Lily. “You’re being so overly dramatic again.” She crawled over to us our side of the boat.

“Here we go again...” I said. This crap is what she did to me that pushed me over the edge. After my dad had died, I was a mess. But instead of helping me, Lily... my supposed friend, made fun of me. Eventually I got her to stop with that, but she continued to say stuff about other things like this to me all the time.

“Well, it’s true. You always want attention or something. It’s not that big a deal.”

“You don’t get it, do you?” I snapped at her. She looked at me, surprised at first. “We’re going to war! We’re the rebellion! This is a fight to the finish!”

“There you go again.” she said, rolling her eyes. “Right, Mei?”

“I...” My best friend, Mei looked at me and back to Lily. “Lily, she’s right, you know.”

I stopped dead.

She never stood up for anyone. She always tagged along with whatever one person said, no matter what it was. But this time, she had stuck up for me.

By this point, all of the other conversations stopped, and everyone was listening in.

“She is,” Brie said. Again, I was shocked. “You need to get a reality check.”

“See? So I’m not being overly dramatic.” At all of this, she seemed to lose her nerve.

“Yeah, whatever, Nick.”

“No! Not whatever! You need to knock off your stupid crap! I’ve had enough of it!” I yelled. I was ready for her to get what she deserved. “And I’ve had enough of you!”

“You know what Nick? You need to knock it off! You are so ridiculous!”

“Leave... her... alone.” I looked past Lily, and there was Mike, glaring at Lily. “We’ve all had enough of you. So just stop.”

Lily looked around at everyone, and not a soul on that boat took her side. Cody looked away from her, not even wanting to meet her gaze. I smirked at the sight of it.

“Fine. But it only bothers you because you know it’s true.”

_Whack!_

Everyone sat frozen. Lily had a hand-shaped mark on her cheek. I looked over to see who did it, and it was none other than Zuko himself.

No one made any move to yell at him. Everyone stood frozen in their spots. Disbelief, fear, or something else was not to blame. It was that everyone knew she deserved it.

Even Mike.

Tears came into Lily’s eyes. She started crying, but no one went to comfort her. No one felt bad for her. She had gotten what she deserved at last. She crawled over to the corner of the boat and sat there, crying. Everyone just shook their heads and fell into quiet conversation; all of it obviously about her. Mike still made no move toward her.

“I’m sorry, I-” Zuko started, but I cut him off.

“If it wasn’t you, it would’ve been me, anyway,” I told him.

Cody crawled over to me and sat next to me, in silence. We sat there for maybe ten seconds before I hugged him.

His face turned scarlet red.

“That was... wow,” Mei said to Zuko.

However, Zuko was in panic mode. “I can’t believe I did that…. Why did I do that? God, I’m such a-” But just then, Mei cut him off with a kiss.

“You stuck up for her. Can you stop now?”

Red in the face, he responded with a meek, “Yes.”

“Mei, can I interrupt for a second?” I said with a cough.

“Oh! Yeah... Nick, I’m sorry I never stuck up for you. You know you’re my best friend, I just-”

I cut her off with a tight hug. “Save it. Thank you.”

“Nick... You’re crushing me...”

“Oh! Sorry!”

“I think that’s how every good moment of ours works. It ends with one of us hurting the other.”

“Something like that.” I crawled over to Brie and hugged her. “Thank you.” At first, she rejected the hug, being the way she is, but then she hugged me back.

“Anytime, Nick. I’ll always be here helping you kick somebody’s butt!”

I looked up at Zuko and mouthed a “thank you”.

“We’re here.” I looked over at Ray and saw that his gaze was on the Great Gates of Azulon. They were huge brass statues, and thankfully, the nets were down. We would be at the gates in half a minute.

“Quick! Mike, throw me the blanket!” I said. He took it off and threw it to me. I threw it to Zuko and he put it on immediately.

“Who comes to the Great Gates of Azulon?” asked a very broad guard at the right statue. Chad stood up, him fitting in the most with his hair and eye color being brown.

“We are here from the old Fire Nation colonies!” he called. “We are here to come home!”

The guard eyed us for a minute and we held our breaths. He looked Cody dead in the face.

“You there! Why do you look that way?”

Cody froze. His hair was bright blond with freckles and blue-green eyes. We guessed he might stick out but we had come up with an excuse.

“He was sick, Sir!” Ray called. “He had a condition when he was a child that changed his general appearance, as well as some of the others.

He stared at Cody, hard.

“Very well, then. You may proceed.”

“Thank you, Sir!” Chad called.

We moved the boat onward and past the Great Gates of Azulon.

“We’re in.”

_*Zuko*_

We had just passed the Gates of Azulon and were headed into the main dock. To our right and left were ships of all sizes; some were big Fire Nation naval ships while others are simple row boats for fishermen. And then I saw it....

The ship I sailed on for three years, hunting Aang.

I had a mix of emotions then. I’d had some pretty amazing times with my uncle on that ship, yet I knew how horrible it was for me to be hunting the Avatar on it. But something about it seemed strange to me.

Then, it hit me like a rock. I realized how old this ship was getting. Everywhere, the ship was rusted. On the bottom, algae was growing, no one had taken good care of it. The top was destroyed in the attack from the pirates, so it must’ve been pulled into the dock a long time ago.

Then I felt Nick’s hand on my shoulder. She stood beside me, watching the old boat with me as we sailed along. Everyone else was looking at the city coming up, but Nick and I watched this ship.

“That ship was part of your life for a long time... the good and bad. That’s why it means so much to you,” she stated simply. Then I knew what it was that bothered me so much.

“I... I can’t believe how much I’ve changed since I first got on this thing,” I whispered to her hoarsely. “I was ordering people around, thinking I was destined to capture the Avatar. And now look at us. We’re fighting for Fire Nation freedom. But I feel so separated from my own home.” I rested my head on the side of the boat, staring into the water. Nick sighed and rubbed my shoulder.

“You know you love this place, Zuko. But maybe... maybe you feel like you have a new obligation?” She stopped and turned to me as I looked at her.

“I... I’m sorry.” I pulled away from her then. I didn’t look back at her then because she knew what I was saying. This was my home... and I wanted it to stay that way. I wasn’t ready to give up on the Fire Nation yet.

Then we docked and we all helped each other out of the boat. I led the way with Mei at one side and Nick at the other... but she didn’t say anything to me or look at me. She looked ahead without a word. A small feeling knotted my stomach but I shook it off and kept moving.

We turned left after a few minutes into the outer city. We walked along the houses to look for an old friend of mine. He went to school with me when we were kids at an all boy’s school, but when I came to power, he was my most trusted guard... the one that I assigned to take care of my mother and uncle the day it happened.

I explained all of this to Nick and everyone on the way here, so they knew what we were doing.

After a few minutes, I knocked on a door.

A thin man, about my height with cropped black hair and hazel-golden eyes stepped to the front door. He wore royal Fire Nation clothes.

“Zuko!” Then he looked around at all of us. He whispered to me, “Where have you been? Who are they?” He gave them a weary glance.

“I’ll answer all your questions inside. I need your help, Moku.”

After that, he let us all inside and shut the door behind him. “This way.”

He led us down a long hallway to a dining room. It was themed red and had an enormous dining table with beautiful red seating.

“Please, make yourselves at home.” He then gestured to a servant to bring in tea for everyone. He stood up at the end of the table. I sat to his right, followed by the rest. Lily sat by herself at the other end of the table.

“Everyone! I am pleased to meet you all!” he yelled over the clatter of spoons and tea cups. They obviously never had tea before... except Nick. “I’m Firelord Zuko’s cousin, Moku Thomas. There are some special people here who have been waiting for you.”

And then they came in. Everyone stopped what they were doing.

No one moved. No one whispered.

Aang and Katara... in the flesh.

Aang was the first to move. He rubbed the back of his bald head with his hand. “Hey there... everyone....” And with that, everyone was out of their seats, rushing them.

They asked them a thousand questions and all sorts of crazy stuff. All of the guys jumped at Aang.

“Are you a master firebender now?” Chad asked.

“You beat Ozai!” Ray screamed.

“Can you teach me some moves?” Mike asked.

“Guys! Guys! Guys!” Cody said, trying to quiet them. “Jeez! Let the kid have some space,” he said coolly, obviously trying to be funny. Aang laughed.

“Hey, you’re kinda funny. I’m Aang,” he said with a bow to Cody. He thankfully bowed back. “You must be Cody.”

“How’d you know?”

“Oh! Zuko sent us a letter by messenger hawk. He told us all about all of you, especially about Mei....” Cody laughed as Aang put his arm around him.

“So you’re the one dating Nick?”

“Uh... yeah.”

“We’re gonna be great friends, Cody.”

Then I watched what happened with Katara, Nick, Brie, and Mei. Lily still sat by herself.

“You’re Katara!”

“You’re Nick, right?”

“Yeah! You can Waterbend! That’s the greatest!”

“And you saved Zuko! That’s amazing!”

“Yeah, but so did you!”

“And you lost your dad?”

“I... well... yeah.” she answered nervously. “And you lost your mom?”

“Yes.”

“I have no idea what I’d do if I was in your position and had the chance to kill him...” she said looking down.

She put a hand on Nick’s shoulder. “I can see it in you. You’d do what’s right, in the end.” Nick beamed.

“Hey guys!” All of us turned around and saw Toph. “Hey Zuzu!”

“Since when do you call me that?”

“Since I have the authority.”

“What authority?”

“Being the greatest Earthbender the world has even known.”

“It’s great to see you again, Zuko,” Aang said with a bow. I bowed back.

“It’s great to see you again too.”

Then we just looked at each other and broke into a hug.

“Zuko!” Katara called.

“Hey Katara,” I said, smiling. She hugged me tightly and I groaned at the pain in my chest.

“Let me see it.” She squinted her eyes down on me, examining the wound.

“Katara! Can you teach me how to heal?” Nick asked with enthusiasm.

“I don’t know. If you’re not a bender, you might not be able to...”

“I mean, I just want to watch is all.” She looked at Katara filled with hope in her eyes that her idol would teach her, and Katara saw it too.

“Okay. All you have to do is trace the shape of his wound with your pointer and middle fingers. You’ll get the blood flowing that way. Here,” she said. She pulled water out of her pouch and bended it over Nick’s hand. “Now trace.”

Nick did so gently, and I slowly felt the pain release.

“Is that oasis water, Katara?” I said, sighing. “That stuff hits the spot.”

“No, actually,” she said, confusion evident in her tone. “And... I’m not doing that.”

We looked over at Nick and saw that the healing was working almost too well. The scar was starting to heal over, and Nick continued her job with amazing concentration.

“Am I doing okay? How does it feel Zuko?”

“It feels amazing.” She looked at me and turned back to the healing quickly. Before I could wonder why, I remembered how much of a jerk I was on the boat.

“You’re not supposed to be able to do it without bending the water...” Katara said. She turned away and walked to Aang. “We need you to heal too.”

“Okay.” He pulled his shirt off and threw it to the floor as we watched.

“Okay,” Katara said, returning. She seemed to have calmed down. Aang winked at me. “I need the water back now, Nick.”

Nick slowly lifted her hand off my chest, and raised the water. When she let it off her hand… it dropped in a splash.

“She’s a healer!” Katara said. “My mother was too! She couldn’t bend, but she could heal! Nick, you’re a healer!”

“No way!” She looked down at her hands and smirked, clutching them hard.

The rest of the hour continued until there was a knock at the front door. Moku got the door and came back.

“Avatar Aang, Lady Katara, and... greatest Earthbender...” It sounded more like a question than an address. “You must change into your Fire Nation outfits now.”

They went and got changed, and when they came back, they were wearing their copies of their old outfits.

“Sorry we kinda ruined yours…” Nick said slowly.

“Not at all,” Katara said. “We have a lot of these for stuff like this. Being the Avatar’s girlfriends gets you a lot of attention, so disguises come in handy a lot more often than you’d think.”

“Moku, I need your help.” I said.

“If it involves getting my bitch-cousin off the throne, I’m in.”

“We need to use that carriage to get into the castle. We’ll ride it in and say you’re here for a visit. Then we sneak off while you distract the guards.”

“Will do, Firelord Zuko,” he said with a bow.

“How many times have I told you to just call me Zuko?”

“Alright, alright...”

All of us piled into the carriage. Nick was just stepping in when I took her arm.

“I need to talk to you.” She looked at me skeptically. “Please.” She looked at me for a long moment and stepped down. “We need a minute.” I pulled her back inside the house. “Nick I-” I started. But then I stopped because she wanted to say something too. “You first.”

“Zuko, on the boat... I didn’t mean to do that to you... to make you choose like that. I know this is your home and you’ll never want to leave it behind,” she said, turning away from me. I spun her around to face me as I spoke.

“But Nick, that’s what I wanted to apologize for. And it was only when you said something that made me realize it.” I took a breath and sighed. “I always thought that I needed my honor... my thrown... my people. And when I sat on that thrown when I became Firelord, yeah, it was what I thought to be the greatest thing I’ve ever had in my life. But now... I look at you, and I look at Mei and you guys are the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me. With my uncle, and the other Mai...they taught me to love. Katara and Aang taught me to learn what’s right and wrong, and Katara alone taught me what trust is. But you guys are everything to me. You’re the closest person I’ve ever been to, I know now that I’m in love with Mei.  But you... I... thank you.”

And with that, I hugged Nick. Then she returned the hug. She was crying ‘I’m sorry’ and I was saying ‘It’s okay’ and both of us, ‘Thank you.’

After we pulled apart, we smiled at each other and walked outside. We stepped into the carriage and I sat down next to Mei. She was just talking to Katara about Aang and Cody, when I tapped her on the shoulder.

 “What’s up?” Her soft blue eyes glistened as they touched me in my soul and made my heart thump loudly in my chest.

I held her face in my hands and pulled close to her slowly and gently pressed my lips against hers.

“Look at the little lovebirds!” Mike said.

“Yeah, we are! Get over it!” Mei said.

I looked over at Nick and saw her seated next to Cody. She was laughing at all of this.

Cody looked at her for a long while, and I was wondering what he was looking at but when I narrowed my gaze, it was the birthmark on her arm that was bothering him.

After about fifteen minutes, we pulled up the gate leading to the inner city. Moku got us in, and we continued down the road to the palace.

“On the day of the invasion, we had to walk this road,” Katara told Brie and Mei. I looked out the window and saw the whiny, jagged path leading up the side of the volcano, into the inner city.

When we got to the top, we went through a tunnel and came out inside the volcano... the inner city. It was huge from up here, but not nearly as big as Ba Sing Sei. It was also themed red, and had a busier feel to it.

When we finally arrived at the palace, Moku told the guards that family was visiting, and they let us in. We then got out of the carriage to go inside. All of us started to walk in together, side by side, and I’ll admit, it was nerve-wracking. When we got into the palace, we were led down a long hallway that I knew as the seating area. The throne room was awhile away.

“Firelord Azula will be with you in a moment,” a guard said. Then he shut the door and left us alone. Bad security choices, Azula.

“Isn’t she supposed to be called Fire Lady if she’s female?” Katara asked.

“Yeah, but she’s nutso with power right now,” Mike stated simply.

“Okay, break into your groups!” Nick called. Everyone got into their planned groups. Team Water was me, Nick, Mei and Cody. Team Fire was Aang, Katara, Brie and Mike. Team Earth was Chad, Toph and Lily. Team Air was Ray, Matt, and Ty Lee. Everyone readied their weapons.

I stepped forward. I looked around at everyone one last time and realized how much we had grown together as a group.

“Alright guys! Let’s move out!”


	10. Paths

Chapter Ten: Paths

_*Team Earth – Chad*_

All of us were running through the hallways toward the throne room. We had a plan, and we were ready. We ran together in a steady, quiet beat through the darkened hallways. It was eerily quiet... until we saw the first guards.

“Earth Team, go!” Nick ordered. That was Toph, Lily, and I. We sped on ahead and lunged at a guard.

“Go!” I shouted at Nick. She looked at me one last time and mouthed, “Good luck,” and then they were gone.

Lily lunged at her target and managed to slice at the guard’s neck. She cut it open with her steel fan with a clean shot and continued to fight him.

Toph had started shooting rocks at her guard while the guard deflected them with her blade. Eventually, Toph got a solid shot and went in for the kill.

I took out my hook swords and used a spin-swipe to take out the guard’s legs. He fell over with ease and I was about to stab him with the butt-end of the sword when I heard a scream. I knew the sound had come from Lily, so I quickly finished off the guard and ran toward her.

Toph was being held off a bit by her guard, but Lily was on the floor, bleeding. She rolled out of the way as the blade swung down at her, narrowly missing her face. I jumped up and aimed a round-house kick at the guard’s head, which made him fall over. I jumped on top of him and punched him, knocking him out.

When I finished, Toph was already at Lily’s side, calling for help. Lily wasn’t helping the situation either by writhing around on the floor, screaming.

“Lily shh! The guards will-” but before I could finish my sentence, there were at least five of them surrounding us.

_*Team Air – Ty Lee*_

We continued running through the palace halls after Team Earth had to fight. I stayed close to Ray and Matt, in the event we needed to go as well. When I ran up to Ray I winked at him and he smiled at me.

“Team Air, go!” ordered Zuko.

I flipped forward and took out the first guard with some quick jabs to the neck and shoulders. He collapsed as the rest of the team disappeared.

“Nice shot!” Ray said. He held up a hand. I hit it and twisted my fingers between his.

“You know, if we don’t die or anything, maybe you and I could go some place.”

“Well, you won’t.” We turned around and saw a huge guard with different armor from the others. We got into fighting stances. “I am the general of Firelord Azula’s army, and I-” But before I could process what was happening, the guard fell backward, spewing blood with a spear through his stomach. He died on the floor in seconds. We stood there, dumbfounded.

I turned to Ray.

“Damn! I hate annoying boss speeches!” Ray shouted. I jumped up at him and kissed him on the lips.

“My hero,” I said with a wink.

Ray looked at me confused for a second, then shrugged and kissed me back.

“Uh... guys?” Matt said, worriedly. “You may want to help me out.” he said as he picked up the huge sword the general was holding. We pulled apart and saw ten guards coming for us.

“Let’s finish this,” Ray said.

“And then we can have some alone time.”

“Seriously?” Matt interrupted.

“You don’t want to end up like him, do you?” Ray said, sticking a thumb in the direction of the guy on the floor.

“I’m good, thanks.”

_*Team Fire – Mike*_

I was having a lot of doubts as we ran through this place.

Lily wasn’t the girl I thought she was. She was horrible to Nick, one of my best friends. I didn’t know how well I could fight after seeing parts of the two battles that went on as we went past them. But then I didn’t have time to think about it because ten more guards just popped up.

“Water Team, go!” Nick shouted. She nodded in my direction, and I nodded back.

A possible final farewell.

Katara flew at two of the guards on a wave of water, knocking them over. She then got into octopus form and started whipping at them. Aang went into the Avatar State. Brie used her machete over her head, making it spin. She ducked down and swatted at a guard’s foot, taking it clean off with her blade.

I ran in with the sais at the ready, spinning them easily in my hands. I jumped up, ready to stab one guard with a loud yell, but before I could come down on him, he turned toward me and shot fire at me. I yelled and threw my blades in front of my face, bracing for the burn as I fell down. I hit the ground with a loud thud.

But I didn’t feel a burn.

I sat up, wearily and shook my head. Not even my hands felt a burn. I looked down and saw that my dragon necklace was glowing bright red.

“Mike! You okay?!” Brie shouted toward me as she sliced off a guy’s arm.

“Yeah, I’m alright!” I jumped up and lunged at the next guard with my necklace glowing. The guard came toward me, but I side-stepped quickly and stabbed him in the back, and as I came up, another guard was in my face, but I jabbed him with my elbow and stabbed at his forehead.

I swallowed and pulled as hard as I could. I would _never_ forget the feeling of ripping my sai out of someone’s skull.

Change was evident in the air...so thick you could feel it.

I thought that Brie would shy away from a fight like this, but she fought on, strong. She wanted to live, and she wanted to help Zuko just as much as the next person. She was ready to kill for her friends.

On the other hand, I wasn’t. I always thought that a fight was for strength or power. But then, I fought to protect the people I cared about, and I fought to stop this God damn bitch. That’s what Brie must have felt before I did.

 “AHHHH!” I felt the impact before I saw the fall. Brie was falling fast. She was definitely unconscious, but she was still in the air.

I jumped up and landed on a guard’s head. Before he toppled under my weight, I stepped from one head to the next, and as I did so, Katara took them out with the octopus. I jumped up and caught Brie just seconds before she’d hit the ground, and I rolled with her in my arms. She woke up, startled. I stood, jabbing a guard that was behind her. “Can you fight?” I said as I stabbed the guy behind me.

“Yeah, I’m okay.” Then her face went pale. “Mike! Watch out!” I spun around and saw fire being shot in our direction, and I stood in front of her, blocking her way and held out my necklace in front of me. It absorbed the fire with ease and glowed even brighter now. “What the hell was that?” she yelled.

“No time to explain!” I said, dodging a spear. “Team up?”

“Let’s kick some ass.”

We stood back against back as the oncoming guards attacked us. There seemed to be more and more with each passing minute.

I stabbed one guard in the chest and Brie sliced at the one to my left. A firebender shot flames at us and I held up my necklace to my right, blocking both Brie and I. One guy came up from my blind spot and tried to take me out, but Brie whipped her blade at him full-force and blood splattered all over us. I wiped the blood from my eyes and low-jabbed the guy in front of me. Brie sliced down the guy to her left, my right as I took out another firebender.

Brie and I were starting to get tired, but we knew we had to keep going to protect ourselves and our partners.

_*Team Water – Mei*_

We were running down the hallway together as the four of us left Mike, Brie, Aang, and Katara behind. That could have been the last time we saw them.

But that was the last thing on my mind. We still had to face Azula.

I couldn’t believe we had come all this way. We had started with finding out a frickin’ cartoon character is real... and we were fighting for his world....

And I’m in love with him.

Then I slammed head-first into Zuko’s back. We all abruptly stopped moving.

“We’re here.”

I looked up and saw huge, red curtains leading into what I kneww will be the main throne room. I swallow hard.

“Is everyone ready?” Nick asked all of us. She looked to Zuko and he closes his eyes and nods, squeezing my hand in his. She looked to me and I nod, squeezing her hand. Finally, she turns to Cody. He’s staring at the curtains, wide-eyed.

“Cody?”

He turned to face her and looks at her long and hard. The moment seemed so heartfelt that I felt the need to look away.

“Ready...” Zuko said. He let go of my hand and got into a fighting stance. All of us started pulling out our weapons. This was it. Nick pulled out her daggers, one in between each of her fingers. Cody pulled out the nun chucks, spun them once and stood, ready.

Finally, I wearily took my bow off my back and held it up. Nick gave me a reassuring glance, and I looked to Zuko for support. He kissed me lightly on the cheek and whispered, “You can do this.” I pulled out an arrow from behind me and locked it into position on the bow.

“Set...” Cody continued.

“Go,” Nick finished.

All of us pushed the curtains past us. We walked in, slowly, and looked around for Azula.

She wasn’t on her throne.

“Where the hell is she?” Cody muttered.

“Right here.”

Before we could even glance, a bolt of lightning aimed directly at Nick’s head. Zuko pushed me to the side, yelling, “Look out!” I looked behind me and watched as Cody clumsily grabbed Nick around the waist and threw them both to the side, landing hard on the marble floor.

“Nick!” I screamed.

Just then, Azula jumped down from a nearby pillar in full Fire Lord Garb. Her hair was down and wildly untamed. She wore no makeup, and she looked insane. But then I saw the look in her eyes.

“Zuzu! How nice it is to see you again!” she shrilled. “I thought you killed yourself after Mai died! And thank goodness you didn’t! When I found out from my friends the Black Lotus Organization that you and the girl were still alive, I asked them for a little favor. And since they couldn’t do it, I see you’ve accomplished it on your own.”

“You!” Nick shrieked. I had never heard a sound like that come out of her before. It was horrifying, hearing the agony behind the simple word. She jumped up and trying running toward her, but Cody grabbed her around the waist holding her arms down to her sides.

“Nick, you have to stop!” he yelled. I’d never heard him this panicked before.

She stared wide-eyed at Azula. “It was you! You had them set that place on fire that day! You killed him!”

“Well... not quite. You see, your father was a bit of a menace in the Black Lotus’ plans.” Azula told the story, pacing back and forth. “He was, after all, the leader of the American branch of the White Lotus organization. We simply wanted to rule the world of course. _We_ have the idea of world peace in mind, and possibly connecting our two worlds. But the White Lotus Organiztion doesn’t seem to understand that. When the Black Lotus took over the Chinese government all those years ago, the White Lotus Rebellion broke out. That’s when they formed... as an opposing organization. As it turns out, my great-grandfather Sozin was the one behind the uniting of your world and mine during the White Lotus Rebellion. In turn, that is what caused the comet to come; the ripping of the universal walls of time and space. So he used this power to first wipe out the Air Nomads. He was ready to take all of the other nations down and force them into the Fire Nation’s rule. As for your world, they did the same, trying to take over everything and everyone, forcing them into their power, their ways. And there you have it. The three of us were born to be leaders. Your history... my history... and now here we are, in a battle to win one over the other... and only one of us will come out alive.”

“That’s not gonna happen!” I retorted.

“We’ll see....” she says with a wave of her hand.

“Charge!” Nick screamed. All of us ran forward, at the ready. Zuko whipped out fire straight out of his palms and started rushing toward her. He shot his fists forward and a wall of fire formed, rushing toward her. Azula jumped up and dodged the fire, shooting blue fire at Zuko and I. Zuko blocked it with a round-house kick and used the momentum to spin on the ground, creating a circle of fire around him and launching it at Azula.

“Come on!” Nick called to me. “We can’t let this turn into an Agni Kai!”

“Right!” I rushed forward and drew back the arrow. I kept my eye on Azula and released. The arrow went through the whip of blue fire she just threw at us and hit her square in the chest. For a second, nothing happened. Then she reached forward and ripped the arrow right out of her. Blood came dripping out, but she came at us again, this time, riding a wave of blue fire.

Then, as Zuko shot fire at her, she punched it out of the way, leaving an opening for the rest of us. I fired another two arrows. The first one missed and the second bounced off her shoulder. She was coming fast, so I started running to the throne as she raced toward us. Zuko kept firing and Nick and Cody ran beside me.

Nick then jumped up and threw a shuriken at her, full-speed. Luckily, her aim was good and it got her in the thigh. It cut it right open, and blood oozed out slowly. We kept running, and now Cody turned around and whipped the first nun chuck at her, sending the chain flying toward her. It hit her in the head but she didn’t even flinch, as her biggest problem was Zuko. The second one came at her, only this time, she grabbed it at the end, and swung it over her head. She cackled as she did so, and Cody was flung off his feet, holding onto the nun chuck for dear life.

“Cody!” Nick shouted. Azula then let go of the chain, and Cody went flying to the side of the throne room, crashing into the wall with a loud clang of metal.

Nick chased after Cody, but as she did so, Azula came up behind them fast. My only chance was to shoot.

I pulled back another arrow, locked it in, and fired. The arrow shot through the air, sparkling in the light of the blue and red fire. Finally, it hit Azula in the lower back, at last, knocking her off the wave of blue fire.

Nick was now at Cody’s side and she pulled the tab on the skin of water Katara had made for her. She quickly used healing on his head. He shook off the pain and jumped to his feet with Nick. They came back, both firing at the same time.

And as they came, Azula stood up and back flipped to avoid them. Then, she did her usual lightning routine, and held it for a moment, deciding on whom to choose. At last, she set her eyes on Zuko, and I realized only a second too late, as he was just standing up from another attack when she fired.

“NO!”

_*Cody*_

He fell.

He fell fast.

Zuko laid on the ground with blue lightning blazing around his form. He twitched all over from the agony. She had shot him in the exact place he was hit the last time with lightning... square in the chest. I prayed that the healing Nick did earlier today would help him somewhat, but it looked bad... real bad.

But then my attention fell on Nick who was now rushing straight at Azula. I sped forward, trying to get behind her.

Azula fired at Nick, but she easily did a shoulder roll to the right and threw a dagger at her. Somehow, Azula caught it and drew back her hand. Before Nick had time to think, she threw the dagger, sending an electric jolt within the metal. Nick froze, thinking she was about to die. Instead, I finally caught up to her and dove at her legs, knocking her over, just as the dagger went flying past her head and into the nearest pillar.

“Cody?” she asked, weakly.

“Come on, get up!” I said, tugging at her arm. Finally, she stood up, but she swayed slightly. I caught her  and stood her up. “You okay?”

“I’m fine. Let’s do this.” We ran toward Azula together this time. As Azula shot fire at us, Nick rolled out to the left and came up behind her. I rolled to the right and came up next to her.

Simultaneously, we hit her hard. I got her right in the face with the nun chuck, hearing the snapping of her bones in her face. Nick got her in the back of the neck, cutting off the hideous cackling sound at last and knocking her over. She fell face first onto the floor in front of me, blood pooling out of her. Nick quickly bent down and waved her hand over her.

“She’s down for the count, but she’ll survive.”

“Hurry, we have to help Zuko!” I grabbed her hand and ran with her to Zuko’s side. He was completely unconscious on the floor.

“You have to save him!” Mei screamed at Nick. Tears poured down her face.

“I’m trying!” She flipped Zuko onto his back. His shirt was almost entirely burnt off, and his chest was crusted with ashes of a third degree burn. Tears started coming to her eyes.

“You can do this,” I told her. “Just stay calm.” She nodded and started to get to work on him. She leaned over him and pressed her hands to his chest when a small shock of blue lightning shot out of him and hit her. She fell over.

“Nick! Come on! Stay with us! Come on, please!” I begged. I sat next to her now-unmoving form and hugged her into my chest. “You have to be okay. You have to save yourself and Zuko.... Please!”

She starting to get up but almost fell over. I grabbed her and held her up as she tried to stand again before she finally started walking toward him.

“I have to do this,” she muttered. She sat down next to him again and pressed her hands down onto his chest as quickly as she could. As she did, blue sparks shot out from his open wound, obviously causing her more pain.

“You have to stop! You’ll kill yourself!” I shouted.

But she ignored me and squinted her eyes against the light. She screamed in pain, but I watched as the wound started to slowly heal. The ashes disappeared and the skin grew back in seconds. There was a deep scar in his chest, but the wound was finally closed up. Finally, Nick stopped and fell onto her back, breathing heavily.

“I... did it....” she breathed. I sat next to her and hugged her into me.

_*Nick*_

After I calmed down and was steady enough, I stood up. I walked over to where Zuko and Mei were sitting.

“I thought I lost you!” Mei yelled, crying. Zuko was awake and smiled, holding Mei.

“You didn’t, and you never will.”

“Think... again.” I spun around and saw Azula getting up. She ran toward me and I left everyone alone. I ran at her as she ran at me, and somehow got up the nerve to punch her in the face. I didn’t think for a second about how that should’ve been impossible with her power.

She grabbed me by the neck and held me up above her.

“If you kill me,” I managed to choke out, “you’ll be just let your father.”

“I’m nothing like him. I’m better than he ever was!” she yelled in my face.

“If you were better than him, then you wouldn’t have killed him!”

“I killed him because I’m stronger than him!”

“You killed him because you knew he didn’t love you!”

Finally, her hand loosened from my neck and I dropped to the floor.

“You don’t want me killed because I’m a leader. You don’t even know me. You want me killed because of my father… the father that loved me.”

She looked down at me. Our eyes locked for a moment. And in that moment, I saw the abandoned little girl.

_*Zuko*_

I walked up next to Nick. “You know something, Azula? Ever since we were little, I always walked in your shadow. You were always the firebending prodigy. Everyone just saw me as a mistake to the Fire Nation Royalty. But look at us now. Look what you’ve become.”

Then, she collapsed on the floor. She was finally defeated. She knew we had been right, and she knew this was the end.

She looked up and me with tears in her eyes, and I drew back a fist of fire.

Everyone behind me gasped. I looked back and saw everyone had come to the throne room. The looks on everyone’s faces were shock… horror… sadness.

Mei looked at me with pleading in her eyes. And said one word, as low as I could strain to hear.

“Don’t.”

I looked back at Azula and dropped my hand.

“But I’m not like you. I’m not a monster. Not like you.”

Then, Aang and Katara rushed forward. Katara waterbended rings around Azula’s wrists and froze them to the floor. Aang then stepped forward, breathed deeply, and placed one hand under her chin, one on her forehead and in a flash, their heads suddenly jolted up, and blue light shot out from Aang’s body. He was completely blue with light. Azula was now entirely red, glowing as well.

All of us watched in amazement as the light shot upward and bursted through the ceiling of the palace. Aang’s blue glow then started to press forward, covering Azula in blue as well. Her entire body was covered in blue light, until the last of the red light in her eyes was entirely blue. All of us then shielded our eyes, and the blue light exploded through the room and faded away.

When we looked again, Katara was picking up Aang and Azula lay unconscious on the floor.

“What... What was that?” I asked, dumbfounded.

“I took Azula’s bending away. She’ll never be able to do anything to anyone ever again,” Aang told the crowd. Everyone cheered.

I looked around and saw everyone there. Even some guards. I was about to attack them when Chad held his hand up.

“No, they’re okay,” he said. “When we were almost taken down, they saw that Lily was going to die if they didn’t do something.” Everyone turned and faced her, who was being supported by Toph. She had bandages around her torso. “They told us that they were still loyal to you, so they didn’t want to hurt us. They helped us.”

“Thank you,” I said with a small bow.

“No, thank you, Fire Lord Zuko,” they all said, getting down on the floor. Everyone else soon followed. Mei even tried to get down, but I held her up.

“You don’t need to do that.” I leaned in and kissed her.

“Wait a second....” Toph said, hesitantly. “Does anyone else... feel that?”

“Feel what?” Katara asked.

“Wait, I feel it too,” Aang added.

“It’s... a vibration... deep in the Earth.”

“Isn’t this place in a volcano?” Nick asked.

“The entire Fire Nation is,” I stated.

“How long has this volcano been dormant for?”

“Since the first time Sozin’s comet came. Why?”

“We have to get out of here... _now_!”


	11. Into the Nothing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [Author’s Note 12/6/15]: Title of the chapter is based on the song “Into the Nothing” by Breaking Benjamin. You might notice some lyrics thrown in too.

Chapter Eleven: Into the Nothing

_*Nick*_

“Wait, what’s going on?” Zuko screamed over the roar of the falling ceiling and walls around us. We all ran together through the palace, trying to escape in time. As we all ran, we had to jump over fallen rocks, run around collapsed walls, and pull each other to safety.

“The volcano that your genius family built inside of,” I started. Then, a piece of the ceiling came hurdling at me. I didn’t have time to think, because just then, Cody jumped at me and sent me hurdling backwards. The ceiling piece collapsed in the place I was standing just moments ago. I sat up and pulled him to his feet, and we sprinted to catch up to Zuko. “it’s erupting! Volcanoes erupt lava! And if we’re going to survive, we have to get out of here!”

“Who the hell’s genius idea was it to put this place in a volcano anyway?” Ray asked. “You guys are freaking idiots! Screw them! I say let them die of stupidity!”

“Ray...” Chad said slowly. “If we let them die, then we die too!”

“This is so not the time for this....” Mei said, shaking her head.

“Brie, look out!” Mike shouted. Just then, a chunk of the ceiling fell and went through the floor, right in front of her. She slipped and fell in but caught onto the edge just in time. Below her, we saw orange, white-hot lava. “Take my hand!” he shouted at her.

“I can’t!” she screamed. She started breathing heavy, losing her self-control. But thankfully, Mike leaned down and grabbed both of her wrists, pulling her up. Then, Mike almost fell in, but I grabbed him from behind. I pulled as hard as I could, and then Zuko grabbed me around the waist, and we all helped each other up. But just then, a huge rock came hurdling at us, and Zuko threw the three of us out of the way. Though Zuko was nowhere in sight.

_“ZUKO!”_ Mei and I screamed. Then we saw his head pop up from under the rubble and he punched the rock out of the way with some firebending.

“Come on! MOVE!” he screamed. We all ran again as more rock fell on the place we just were.

“How are we gonna get out of here?” Chad called to me.

“We’re on the second floor!” Zuko called. “Which means that there’s one floor above us and one below! So either way, we can get killed by the falling rocks or falling in!”

“Thanks for the positive attitude!” Mike called to him.

Another chunk of rock fell and landed just a few feet in front of me. It was way too big to go around, so all of us jumped over it one by one. It was one thing after another, after another for what seemed to be forever. Not once did I even consider getting tired.

Just then, we heard a loud roar below us. We kept running and picked up the pace, trying to avoid whatever trouble was coming next.

In a flash, all of us fell one story below in a heap. Rubble was everywhere, and debris smothered our breathing. I looked around for an exit with Cody’s arm around my shoulders. He was slumped onto me as I tried my best to support our combined weight. The sounds from above us were quieter now.

“Zuko, where the hell is the exit?”

“I... This is my old bedroom.” I looked around and registered the fact that there indeed was a bed and wardrobe still standing. The rubble must have missed both. “The door _was_ over there, but there’s just rocks everywhere.”

I looked around with Cody for an opening and found nothing. Every entrance was blocked in one way or another. Then I realized all of the guards that were with us were missing.

“Where are they all?” Katara asked.

“They’re gone,” Toph said, solemnly. “They were all crushed and killed, or fell into the lava. There was nothing we could do.”

All of us looked around and gave each other a once-over. Everyone had bruises and cuts, blood everywhere, ashes and smoke staining our skin. Cody had a cut over his left eye and I had gashes in my knees and on my right shoulder. Everyone else had gashes everywhere as well.

But our break ended when we heard a roar unlike any other from deep within the ground. All of us looked up, alert and started panicking to find a way out.

Just then, it started to get really hot. No one else noticed, as they were all searching for a way out. Then I looked to where the door used to be.

There was an orange glow.

“Zuko!” I pointed to the crack in the place where the door was, and Zuko’s eyes widened.

“Guys, help me lift the wardrobe!” he called. Aang, Katara, Toph, Ty Lee, Mei, Matt, and I all lifted it together. “Throw it on the bed!” We did so, and it made the bed four times higher.

I climbed up, clumsily, and managed to get on top. “Everyone up!”

“Zuko, go up to the ceiling and help everyone get out,” I instructed. I looked back to the doorway and saw that the lava was starting to burn through. “Now!”

He swiftly hopped up and lifted Mei up and out of the hole in the ceiling where we’d fallen in. He swung himself up and readied for the next person.

One by one, we all got on top of the wardrobe and got out. As we did so, however, I stayed at the bottom to make sure everyone else got out safely. I had to fight Cody to get him to move.

“Just go already! I’m fine! You need to get out!”

“Not without you, I’m not.”

“Guys, you’re the last ones,” Matt called down to me. I looked to the doorway and realized that the lava was inches from our feet. I pushed Cody onto the bed and we climbed on top of the wardrobe together.

“Will you go now?” I yelled at him.

“You first!”

I jumped as high as I could, and Zuko caught my wrists and pulled me up with Mei holding him. When I got up, I spun around in time to see that the lava was quickly deteriorating the bed.

“CODY! HURRY!” I yelled. I knew that Cody wouldn’t be able to jump from the pain he was in before.

In a flash, Matt looked at me for one instant, and then looked away. He jumped down onto the wardrobe and he grabbed Cody and held him up to Zuko.

I ran over and helped Cody up over the edge. He breathed heavily and laid down, trying to control his breathing.

“Come on! You have to try!” Zuko shouted. I picked my head up and realized that Matt was still down there. I ran over and called to him.

“Matt, come on, JUMP!” I yelled. But he looked up at me, solemnly.

“It’s too late now,” he said. The lava was coming up on the wardrobe fast, and it set on fire.

“No it’s not! It’s never too late! JUMP!” I yelled. But just then, a piece of the floor fell through and collapsed into the lava below. Cody pulled me back just before I fell.

I coughed on the debris, and shook my head. “No! _MATT!”_

“Come on!” Cody yelled at me. Another rock came hurdling down at us, and Cody pushed us both out of the way. We both rolled around and finally fell onto our backs. I opened my eyes and sat bolt upright. Then I saw that rocks had fallen everywhere and left us separated from the others.

“No... No... NO!” I yelled. Tears started to fall down my face and wash some of the dirt away. “It... It can’t be....”

Cody sat up and put his arms around me. “I know that this is hard for you right now. But you have to listen to me.” I looked him in the eyes and he looked at me, hard. “You have to stay strong. We need to focus on what we’re doing and get out of here. It’s the only way we’re going to make it out alive.”

I nodded, feeling numb.

“I trust you, Nick. Now you have to trust me.” He stood up and held his hand out to me. “We’re getting out of here alive.”

I wiped the tears away and shook my head of all its thoughts other than survival. I put on a determined demeanor and took his hand.

“I trust you.” I knew… somehow… that we had make it out alive.

_*Zuko*_

“Why couldn’t I have just reached a little further and saved him? WHY?” I screamed. Everyone backed up from me, not wanting to get caught in the crossfire of my rage.

“Zuko, it’s not your fault,” Mei told me. “He’s an idiot that wanted to save someone. You have to understand that. That was his dream.”

“But he’d still be alive if I caught him!” I yelled. Mei winced at the sound. I softened my expression and shook my head in defeat. “I’m sorry....” I said quieter. Mei walked over to me and kissed me on the cheek.

“It’s alright,” she said, tears in her eyes. “But now we have to get out of here.”

I stood up and pulled Mei up with me.

I lead all of us through the rest of hallway. When we made the next turn, I realized that we were at the edge of the palace.

“Everybody out!” I called. All of us filed out the main doors and sprinted through the court yard. When we left the palace gates, we saw hundreds of people running toward the main entry to the inner city. It was the edge of the volcano, and everyone made it to the outside. When I looked back, everything was completely engulfed in lava. Then, we saw an eruption from the bottom of the volcano spew out more lava high into the air.

Mei pushed me to leave, and all of us ran down the winding road that would lead us to the shore of the Fire Nation. We all ran as fast as we could, but the lava was gaining on us, fast.

Next to me, I saw Aang pull out his bison whistle and blow, hard. In an instant, Appa flew toward us from Roku knows where.

As if matters needed to get worse, Mei slipped from the path as we ran. She started sliding down the mountain and I jumped down after her. My weight being more than hers, I caught up to her and grabbed her in my arms, tumbling on the way down to break her fall. But as we approached the bottom, the wind was knocked out of me as I felt something catch me in my back.

_“KATARA!”_ Mei’s voice rang in my ears. She leaned over me and took my shirt off of me as gently as she could. She used it to put pressure on my wound, but the blood only poured through. There was a tree branch sticking out of my torso.

“I’m here, it’s alright,” Katara said, trying to sooth Mei. “You have to pull it out with me.” I could hear the panic in Mei’s voice, but I continued to groan in agony. “If you don’t help me, he’ll die.” Slowly, they pulled on the branch together as I screamed louder than I’d ever have. Her tears poured down her face. “I’m going to try to heal him.” Katara said. She bent down and poured water on the wound. She then bent it around her hand and pressed down on my chest.

“Zuko, can you hear me?” Mei said. I couldn’t move or speak, but instead I blinked my eyes as hard as I could manage, and she breathed a sigh of relief. “He’s okay.”

“This is not going to be easy for me to fix alone,” Katara said. “I need Nick’s help.”

Everyone didn’t say a word for a minute.

“And if we don’t find her?” Aang asked.

“I... don’t know,” Katara stated.

“Come on, let’s get him on Appa at least. We have to get out of here,” Aang said. All of us then piled into the saddle and Mei and Aang lifted me on as Katara continued to heal me.

“Wait!” I heard a voice call from behind us. I tried to focus and saw Moku running toward us.

“Moku...” I said weakly. He climbed up and kneeled at my side.

“I needed to tell you something...” he panted, “about... Ursa....”

I sat up and winced in pain. Mei tried to push me back down, but I shook her off.

“She’s alive. After the raid on the palace, I took her and Uncle Iroh to the Northern Water Tribe. You can still find her.”

My eyes softened. “She’s alive....” I held out my hand. “Thank you, Moku.”

“Anything for you, Zuko,” he replied, taking my hand. “I have to head back. I’m leading the fleets out of here. We’re heading east to the Earth Kingdom. We’re going to make amends and stay there.”

“Glad to hear it. Goodbye, Moku.”

“Goodbye, Zuko.”

Then, he took off in a sprint down to the harbor.

“Come on!” Aang called. “We have to find Cody and Nick!” Then, he steered Appa into the sky.

_*Nick*_

“Take my hand!” Cody called down to me. I was a few feet below, and about to fall into the lava. I reached up and almost fell, but he caught me just in time. He pulled as hard as he could and we fell back onto the edge of the volcano. And just then, the volcano erupted.

_“RUN!”_ I yelled. Both of us ran down the side of the volcano, eventually tripping and sliding down, side by side. We tossed and turned, banging against rocks and surely breaking something along the way.

Finally, we were thrown down to the shore and we both flopped on our stomachs on the sand.

I couldn’t move. I was in pure agony. I opened my eyes and looked around. Then I saw Cody, panting to my right, and he was wincing in pain.

Tears started rushing down my face. I was so relieved that we were safe.

“We’re alive,” he finally said, taking everything in. But then he gasped, and I saw what was wrong as soon as he did. He gripped his right side, which was facing me and was now covered in blood. I sat up quickly and crawled over to him, and ripped his shirt, tying it around his stomach.

Then, I ran down to the water and dipped my hands in. I cupped some in my hands and ran it back over to him to wash the blood off. I took the shirt off and put my hands on the gaping wound. I pressed down, and my hands started to glow blue.

A few winces, ‘It’s gonna be okay’s’ and minutes later, the wound was closed. I kissed his cheek, and prayed to my dad.

“Please... let help come soon....”

Stay with me.

_You’re all I have left._

And a white cloud seemed to come down a little too low in the sky.

“Nick!” It was Chad calling to me from Appa, soaring down to the beach. Tears filled my eyes as I looked down at Cody, laying in my arms.

“We’re gonna be okay!” He smiled at me and nodded, slowly.

But when they landed and Katara jumped out, running over to us, I knew something else was wrong.

I looked up and saw Mei’s face as she looked down at something in the saddle. Her eyes were puffed up, and they were tear-stained as she sat there, expressionless and staring. Katara finally reached me and gave Cody a once-over.

“He looks alright to me. Nice job, Nick,” she complimented. “But Zuko isn’t doing so well. He and Mei fell down the side of the volcano and a branch went into his chest.” I looked over at the unconscious Zuko, and with a heart-wrenching realization, I knew that he truly needed me now more than ever. But then I heard a rumbling behind us and saw lava flowing down the cliff straight for the beach.

“Go! NOW!” Katara and I supported Cody as we walked over to Appa, and put him in the saddle.

I looked down at Zuko and my breath caught. He was out-cold, and his chest was gashed so deep, that I could see an artery or two pumping his blood.

“Ok, let’s do this!” I said, lifting my hands, hovering them over Zuko. Katara bend the water out of her pouch and bent it around her hands. Then I put hands over hers and some of the water leapt onto me as if I were a magnet.

We both lowered our hands onto his chest. On contact, his internal body temperature warmed my hands, and both Katara and I had to press onto the inner parts of his chest to heal him, beyond his rib cage.

The feeling of the blood indirectly on my hands and touching his veins and arteries was something I’m sure was never meant to happen. Katara and I felt our way around, covering every open part of his chest, making our way outwards as the wound started to close up as we flew. We worked for over an hour before the wound finally closed. By that time, we’d both run out of water, and our hands were covered in blood, though Zuko had yet to wake up.

“It’s closed,” I sighed, collapsing onto the saddle floor. The blood on my hands was dried and crusted onto my skin, so I put my hand over the side of the saddle and let it flake off as we flew further.

“Thank you,” Mei said, hugging me.

 “Great job, guys,” Brie said to Katara and I. I waved my hand at her, too tired to move. Katara just smiled.

I heard a single person clapping slowly. I turned and saw Lily, rolling her eyes at me.

“That little bitch!” Brie yelled. She tried lunging at Lily, but Katara grabbed her and held her down. “She’s done!”

“Would somebody please explain what’s going on?” Toph yelled. “I don’t think Sugar Queen can contain Curly Q much longer!”

I waved my hand, dismissively. “It’s a long story.”

“On a lighter note....” Mike started, “Where the hell are we going?”

“The Western Air Temple,” Aang replied. “But Katara and I can’t stay long. We have to be getting back soon.”

“To the South Pole, right?” I asked.

“Yes, with Toph and Ty Lee as well,” Katara added. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ray and Ty Lee look at each other.

“We’re here,” Aang said. He flew us down into the canyon and we saw the marvelous Air Temple structures build by the nomads centuries ago. You could see the waterfalls on the platforms build for meditation by the nomads as well as the inverted structure of the temple. There were tons of ramps and individual buildings everywhere.

“This is incredible....” I trailed off in awe.

“We’ll show you guys around so you can pick a place to stay,” Aang continued. He guided Appa down onto the main platform with the wall paintings from the show. I helped Cody off of Appa and walked him over to the water fountain and we sat down.

“This place is beautiful!” Ty Lee said. She stood next to Ray, with him having his arm around her waist.

“A little help, Mei,” Aang groaned, trying to carry Zuko. She rushed over and held him under his arms while Aang got the legs. “I’ll show you where his old room is. We’ll set him down there and let him get some rest.” She nodded.

“All the guys’ rooms are this way too, so if you guys wanna follow me....” All of us followed them down a narrow hallway that led to a bunch of rooms, but it was very wide-spread inside.

“This one is Zuko’s,” he said, sliding the door open. Inside was a huge window at the back with a small twin bed and a window bench that had drawers for storage. “All the rooms are the same.”

“Where’s our rooms?” Aang and Mei set Zuko down. Everyone left the room, but I stayed behind for a minute watching them.

“You okay by yourself?” I asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she responded, still not taking her eyes off Zuko.

“If you need anything, just yell, okay?”

“Yeah....” She barely mumbled. Then she turned to me. “Thanks.”

I gave her a weak smile. “No problem.” I walked out and slid the door behind me. I heard the rest of them a little further down the hall, but I saw that one room had the door open to my right. I peaked in a saw Chad by himself.

“So this is your room, huh?” I asked, jokingly. He was putting his bag down and hanging his tiger hook swords on the wall next to his bed.

“Yeah, guess so....” He barely looked up.

“Whatcha thinkin’ about?” I asked, leaning against the doorframe with my arms crossed. He was always quiet when something was up.

“Nuthin’.... Just... thinking.....”

“About...?”

“About... well... a lot of things.”

“Like...?”

“Just... I don’t know. I’ve been thinking, and... Maybe.... Maybe I should just... stay here.” He looked up at me, confused. “I want to change myself. I don’t like who I am back home, and I want to have a clean slate... start a new life with a second chance.... Am I crazy?”

I sighed before walking over. “No, not at all. I was contemplating it myself, actually. But I’m needed home with my family. I want to fix the mistakes I’ve made. But you already have, and you truly want to stay here....” I sighed again, “then... I think it would be good for you.”

He shared a small smile with me. “I knew you’d say something like that. It just feels... right. I want that chance to have a fresh start, ya know?” He breathed deeply. “When our group started fighting, they were only maybe ten guys. But then Lily was hit, and a ton more showed up. She was screaming in pain, and we were completely outnumbered. But rather than killing us all off, the guards helped us probably out of pity. They are nice people, and I feel like this is my one chance to start again. Do you think this is what’s best for me? I feel like this is risk I have to take.”

“I know exactly what you mean. And right now... as much as I don’t want to let one of my best friends go....” I trailed off looking away from him.

“Come here,” he said. I turned toward him and saw that he was crying. And apparently I was too, for the fact that I could barely see him through the tears. He was holding out his arms for a hug, and I immediately hugged him back.

“Take care of yourself, okay?” I said. “Don’t go around looking for trouble, and try not to hit on every girl you see.”

He laughed at me with that small little chuckle of his. “I’ll try not to look for trouble.”

“How did I know you’d say that?” I said, laughing as well now. I wiped the tears off my face and hugged him harder. “I’m going to miss you so much.”

“I’ll miss you too. Don’t tell the others yet though. I don’t want them to have to worry about me, too.”

“But of course you put it all on me...” I said, stepping back. I folded my arms and glared at him jokingly.

“Of course...” I smirked and closed the door behind me. I walked down the hall looking for the others, but it was oddly quiet now. They must’ve been over by the girls’ rooms already. I peeked into each of the guys’ rooms as I walked past. Mike was putting his stuff around the room in a completely unorganized fashion. Ray just threw his stuff on his bed and left the room. I wondered where he was until I came to Cody’s room.

The door was closed, so I knocked twice but got no answer. I slowly slid the door open.

“Cody...? You there...?” I looked around before seeing that he was sound asleep on his bed.

His torso was bare other than the bandages wrapped around his stomach area. He breathed deeply and slowly, each breath seemed to cause him a small fraction of pain, even in his sleep. I winced at the thought of not even getting true rest in your sleep before walking over to the end of the bed and sitting down. I sighed, wishing he wasn’t in so much pain. I took out the water skin and poured water on his torso, healing him best I could. His breathing was a little more even when I finished, and I walked out of the room satisfied.

I walked down the hallway further, seeing Aang putting his stuff down in his room as well. I continued walking down the hall until I came to the door leading outside. I looked around on the platform but couldn’t see anyone, anywhere.

“Guys...?” I looked around for the closest building, hoping to find the girls’ rooms but couldn’t see anything. “Hey guys!” I called out.

“Up here!” I looked directly above me to see that on the balcony were Brie, Katara, Ty Lee, Toph, and Ray.

“I’ll be up in a second!” I ran over to the ramp and started climbing. I got exhausted pretty quicklu, from everything that went on today. When I got to the top, I dropped to my knees. “I think I need a little rest....” I sighed, breathing heavily. Brie ran over and sat next to me.

“You alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just...exhausted,” I breathed. The others came over too.

“Can you get up?” Brie asked.

“Yeah, I’m alright.” I got on one foot and tried to stand. Brie grabbed my arm and helped pull me to my feet.

“Just so you know,” Toph told me with a light punch on the shoulder, “I changed Zuko and Cody’s nicknames to Fireflakes and Flameo.”

“I’m sure they’ll just love that...” I said, rolling my eyes.

I looked around and realized that Lily wasn’t there at all. Then I saw her in the corner, looking out over the area.

“This way,” Toph said, leading. We all followed except for Ty Lee and Ray. They stayed, looking over the balcony together with Ray holding Ty Lee around the waist and her resting her hand on his shoulder. I crept over to a nearby water fountain and listened in on their conversation.

“Tomorrow is going to be the hardest day of my life,” Ray said. He breathed deeply as he looked out at the view. The wind was blowing and his long, brown hair blew around wildly. I raised my eyebrows about how much he really cared about Ty Lee. I’d never seen him act this serious before in my life.

“Me too....” Ray hugged Ty Lee harder and kissed her head.

“I don’t want to let you go.”

“Well, we might as well make the best of today, right?”

“Yeah....” But still, neither of them moved.

“I don’t want to let you go!” Ty Lee suddenly yelled. She threw herself into Ray and cried into his chest. Ray hugged her back and laid his face on her head.

“I don’t want to let you go either.” He took her long braid in his hand and wrapped it around, feeling the touch of it for what little time he had left with her.

“Then... don’t,” I said. I walked over from where I was sitting and they both turned to look at me. “Stay here with her, Ray. You love her and she loves you. Don’t just give up on her.”

“But....” He looked to Ty Lee, and she smiled, wanting Ray to stay more than ever. “What about Mom and Dad?”

“I can tell them some story, and even though we’ll all miss you... you’ll be happy, right?” I said through tears. I was about to lose another person I’ve trusted and loved dearly. This was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do.

“No.” Ray and I turned to Ty Lee. “I won’t rip apart your family. I’ve never had a true family to love, but I can’t ruin your relationship with yours. It’s not right, and I won’t stand for it!”

Ray and I looked at each other and back to Ty Lee.

“So...” he started, “you’re gonna let me go...?”

“No way! You two are not being separated! This isn’t fair!” I went into deep thought, thinking of a way for them to stay together. “I’ve got it! Ty Lee, come back home with us!”

“But where would I stay?” she asked.

“What about Mei?” Ray asked.

I shook my head. “Her parents are having enough problems as it is.”

“What about Brie?” Ty Lee asked.

I shook my head again.

“What about one of the guys?” Ray asked. “What about Mike?”

“That’s great!” Ty Lee squealed. “I’m gonna have a family now!” Ty Lee stepped away a little and walked on her hands, followed by a back-hand spring.

“Well, you’d have to share a room with his sister, but I’m sure you wouldn’t mind.”

“Do you have any idea how many of us were in one room in my old family?”

I smiled at them and let them enjoy their time together. I walked inside and peaked into each room, looking around for the others.

I found Katara in her room. “Hey,” I said, walking in. She turned to me and smiled.

“Hey yourself,” she said. “I’ll show you to yours and Mei’s room. Ty Lee’s is right next to mine, so she can find it on her own.”

“Yeah... she’s a little busy at the moment anyway.” I laughed and Katara was confused.

“Do I want to know?”

“It’s about time Ray found someone decent. Ty Lee is going to come back with us when we go home.”

“That’s great!” Katara paused, in thought.

“What’s wrong?”

“How are you guys going to get back?”


	12. Sunsets

Chapter Twelve: Sunsets

_*Zuko*_

I felt the heat of the sun on my face as my eyes started to flutter open. The first thing I was consciously aware of was the fact that my head was pounding, and my chest was extremely sore. I slowly pushed myself to sit up and looked around the room.

And there she was.

Mei was asleep on the bench at the far end of my room. And the flashback hit me with the full force of a tidal wave. I winced in pain.

I stood up slowly and walked across the room. I sat down on the floor next to the bench she was laying on and kissed her on the cheek. Her eyes slowly cracked open and she moaned.

“Zuko...?” I nodded, and her eyes snapped open. “ZUKO!” She jumped up and threw herself on top of me, small tears streaming down her cheeks. I groaned a little at the pain I felt but ignored it. I cupped her chin in my hands and we stared into each other’s eyes.

“I thought...” she sobbed, “I thought I was losing you.”

I gently rubbed the tears off her cheeks with my thumbs. “I would do anything for you. You know that.”

“But it’s not worth losing you!”

Then I pressed my lips to hers and I held her on my lap, sitting there quietly for a long time. My hands made their way into her hair and she wrapped her arms around my waist, and she held onto me like her life depended on it.

_“I love you,”_ I whispered in her ear. She kissed me again before responding.

_“I love you too.”_

Both of us heard a cough then and looked to the doorway where Nick was standing. “Katara and I made breakfast.”

“ _You_ actually _cooked_ something?” Mei asked, astounded. Nick narrowed her blue eyes.

“Yeah, I did!” She stepped out of the room.

“Breakfast?” she asked me.

I pressed my lips to hers one more time. “Sure.” We walked outside holding hands and Nick clapped twice, loudly.

“Bravo! Bravo!” she shouted. Everyone turned to look at us and went, “Awww!”

“Oh, just shut up,” Mei said. She kissed me again, and most of them looked away. I laughed.

“You’re so adorable when you’re pissed,” I told her.

“I think I’m gonna throw up,” Mike said as he walked over to Nick and grabbed a plate of food.

I sat down with Mei in the circle of people between her and Cody. I looked around and did a quick headcount when I realized we were missing two people. One was Lily who was probably still in her room.

“Hey, where’s Aang?” I asked Cody.

“Oh, he went to go get Appa. They’re leaving today.”

“What? Why?”

“They live all the way on the other side of the world. They have to go back sometime.”

“Yeah... I guess you’re right.” I knew they’d have to go back to the South Pole eventually, but I felt like we hadn’t gotten to spend any time together. Aang, Katara, and Toph, and even Sokka were the only family I really had in the days after I left the Fire Nation. I just didn’t want to see them go so soon.

Aang came back with Appa after a few minutes and grabbed some breakfast too.

After awhile, all of us had finished eating and just sat around and talked. I talked with Aang, Cody, and Mike. Ray, Chad and Ty Lee had their little huddle. Nick, Mei, Brie, Katara and Toph found that they had a lot more in common than they thought too. We laughed and joked like a family. But after awhile, it was time for them to go.

“Goodbye Nick,” Katara said to her.

“I just want to thank you for teaching me.” They hugged and said their goodbyes before Katara walked over to me.

“Goodbye, Katara,” I said to her. She looked at me with tears in her eyes. “I just want to thank you for everything you’ve taught me and everything you’ve done for me. You gave me that second chance I didn’t deserve, and you really helped change me.”

“I’m the one that should be thanking you. You taught me how to forgive people, and I’ll miss you.”

“I’ll miss you too.”

We hugged each other and she walked over to Appa. I looked over to Nick and saw that Chad was telling everyone something.

“I’ve decided... to stay.” Everyone gasped in shock except for Nick.

“But... why?” Cody asked.

“I want to start over. And I feel like this is my chance. I’ll miss you guys, but it’s time for me to start again.”

“Group hug!” Ray called out. All of them got in on it.

“Bye Nick,” Chad said. “And thank you.” He hugged her and she hugged him back.

“Take care of yourself, okay? And don’t do anything stupid.” He laughed.

“I’ll miss your annoying parenting.” he said. Nick smiled and wiped the tears from her eyes as they pulled apart. Chad hopped up onto Appa.

“And I’m going with you guys!” Ty Lee shouted.

After all of us said our goodbyes, I still hadn’t said anything to Aang. They all piled onto Appa and were ready to take off when I stopped them. “Wait!” I yelled. Aang turned to look at me. He slid off Appa’s neck and stood in front of me. “You’ve taught me so much. And I’ve never gotten the chance to thank you,” I said at last.

He looked up at me and stepped forward. And at the same time, we hugged each other. “There’s no need to thank your brother,” Aang said. “But I’m thanking you anyway.”

We finally let go, and he got back onto Appa. We all waved goodbye, and Appa took off into the air. He climbed higher in the sky and away from the canyon before he was finally out of sight.

“Well... that’s it then,” Nick said with a sigh.

“I don’t think Lily ever came out for breakfast,” I said suddenly. “Since no one else seems to care, I guess I’ll go look for her, myself... since I was the one that hit her anyway.”

“Mike, why aren’t you worried?” Mei suddenly asked. Mike just stayed quiet. “Mike!”

“ _What_?” he snapped, his eyes narrowed. All of us were taken aback.

“Lily’s missing. Or were you too zoned out to not hear us?”

“Oh, I heard you.” He stood up and started walking away to his room. “I just don’t care.” And then he was gone.

“What’s his problem?” Mei asked out loud.

“Same as mine,” Nick said. I looked to her, and she was pissed too. “She hurt him, and she hurt me. Why are we supposed to care?” Nick then left quietly to her room as well. Brie followed behind her.

Now it was just Mei, Ray, Ty Lee, Cody and I. And the only two people that used to have a reason for caring about her, no longer did.

Ray stood up and walked away abruptly. Ty Lee followed him. “I don’t know about you guys,” he said, as he walked away, “but if someone hurt my friend that badly, why should you care? I’m sticking by my sister on this one.”

Now it was just Mei, Cody and I.

“Wait, why are you still here?” I asked Cody. “Shouldn’t you be on Nick and Mike’s sides?”

“It’s not a matter of sides. It’s a matter of a person being lost and possibly hurt.”

“I’m right here!” Lily said, storming out of a nearby building. All of us snapped our heads in her direction. “None of them really care, do they?”

“No, they don’t,” I said. “They may be your friends, but what have you been to them? You do nothing but insult them at their worst points and trick them into thinking there could be more to you!”

“What are you-?”

“I’ll tell you what he’s talking about,” Brie said, stomping out of the hallway. “Nick doesn’t deserve a bitch like you to tell her what’s wrong with her! Even the first time I met you, you told me how Nick was so dramatic and emotional when the poor girl was getting you blankets to sleep over her friggin house!”

“I was only joking....”

“You don’t know what joking is!”

“What about Mike? I haven’t done anything to him!”

“That’s the point! Not once have you ever done anything for him!”

“Yes I have!”

“You don’t care about him at all, do you? You really are a cold-hearted bitch, aren’t you?”

“Guys! Stop!” Cody shouted. “Enough! Just leave her alone already.”

“So you’re standing up for her when Nick’s in her room bawling her eyes out because you won’t stick by her? Some boyfriend you are.” Brie said, rolling her eyes at him. “You know, I may not know you like she does, but you don’t strike me as someone with a backbone.

“She has a point you know,” I said. Cody looked at me, narrowing his eyes. “Have you ever sat down and actually talked to her about how much pain she’s in?”

He looked away from me. “I told you, I didn’t believe her at first. She told me what Lily drove her to do, and I told her how horrible it was to be driven to that afterwards.”

“Maybe she needs a little more from you,” Mei mumbled.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“You don’t have to hate Lily.” Brie said. “But you don’t have to rub it in her face either.”

“What do you-?”

“How about when you do that dumbass waving game with Lily when Nick is sitting right near you?” Brie asked.

“That’s just-”

“Like old times? Well how do you think it makes her feel? That’s right, you don’t know,” she finished.

“Why don’t you just go in there and do something she’s always saying she wishes you’d do? Be there for her,” Mei said.

“How?” he asked.

“For Roku sakes, even _I’m_ not that dense!” I said. “Go put your arms around her and tell her that everything’s gonna be okay.”

Finally he starting walking away.

_*Nick*_

Why can’t anyone see what she’s done to me? I wish someone... anyone...could know how much pain she put me through without dealing with it themselves.

No.

I just want Cody to know.

I sat there with my knees pulled up to my chest and put my face in my legs, crying hard. I was sobbing so much that I was gasping for breath at this point.

I heard footsteps running toward my room, but I didn’t even bother to get up and see who it was. I didn’t care anymore. Nothing mattered.

I didn’t even budge when I felt a hand on my shoulder.

“Just... just go away,” I said. “I’m fine on my own.” Still, the person didn’t move. But I didn’t care. I kept crying.

Then, the arm made its way around my shoulders and pulled me into their chest. I stopped sobbing for a minute to look at the person with tears staining my cheeks. “Cody...?”

“It’s okay.” I looked up and realized it was Mike. He pulled me closer to him and sat me on his lap like he did a few times last summer. He didn’t know it, but it was special to me because it was the first time someone had done that since my dad died.

I felt his chest rise and fall with his each breath he took, and I felt the sun warm my back as I wrapped my arms around his stomach and cried into his shoulder.

He’s here for me.

And as if reading my thoughts, he gently rubbed my back.

“It’s alright.”

_*Zuko*_

Later that night, I wanted to talk to Mike. I walked down the hallway to his room and hesitated at the door. “Hey Mike?” I knocked. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”

“Sure,” he replied, dully. I slid the door open and shut it behind me as I walked in. “What’s up?” he asked, monotone.

“I know this isn’t exactly the best time in the world for you, but I wanted to talk to you about your necklace.” I stepped toward him, and he pulled it out of his shirt. We’d changed back to our normal clothes once we settled in. He studied it for a minute with me.

“It protected me from the firebenders at the palace. I don’t know why though.”

“That’s what I wanted to ask you about. Where did you get it?”

“I got it a long time ago…. I don’t remember.”

“I think I know how we can find out. Come on.”

_Later…_

“Be careful, okay?” Mei said. Ray, Mike, Cody and I decided that we’d be going to the Sun Warrior Temple to find out what they or the last two dragons possibly knew about the necklace. It took a long argument between Nick and I to convince them to stay here....

_*Flashback*_

“No! You’re not going by yourselves! We have to stay together!” Nick told me.

“No. You guys have been through enough already... you and Mei especially. Just stay here, rest up, and we’ll be back in a few days.”

“What about you and Cody? Please! Just let us come!”

“No. We’ll be back soon enough.”

“You can’t do this! You can’t do this to Mei!”

“Is it Mei you’re worried about? Or is it yourself?” I regretted what I said as soon as I said it. Her head snapped away from me as if I’d slapped her. She clenched her eyes as a tear ran down her cheek. “Wait.... I didn’t mean to-”

But she ran out of the room before I could say another word.

_*End Flashback*_

I regretted hurting her so much. But she needed to rest, and I couldn’t risk more people to possibly be hurt than necessary.

I pulled Mei into my chest and smoothed her hair. I kissed the top of her head. “I love you,” I whispered in her ear. She gripped me tighter and kissed me full on the lips.

“I love you too. Be careful... please.”

“I will be.” I kissed her one last time on her forehead and walked away.

I hugged Brie and Ty Lee goodbye. Lily was nowhere to be found. I didn’t get to say goodbye to Nick quite yet. I watched as her and Cody talked from behind the water fountain.

“Please be careful,” Nick said to him. She hugged him and he hugged her back.

“I will be. It’s ok.”

“Can you please tell me something?” she asked, abruptly pulling away from him. He kept his hand around her waist and she held him around his waist as well. At first, she didn’t look up, but just kept her head down.

“Uh... yeah.”

She looked up at him, and stared straight into his eyes. She took a deep breath. “Do you... do you like me?” He looked at her with evident confusion. She looked down again and explained. “It’s just that... you only told me you liked me when you first asked me out. I mean... you never tell me how you feel, and I feel like you don’t care anymore....” Nick looked back up at him with tears in her eyes. “Just... tell me the truth.”

“I... I like you.” Tears stung his eyes, and they turned slightly pink. I couldn’t tell if Nick noticed this or not, but she pressed him.

“Then... tell me that. You can tell me how you feel. I mean, it’s part of a relationship you know,” she said. She laughed, a very hallow sound... a sad sound. “It’s okay. I mean, what is it? Do you have a hard time showing your emotions, maybe...? That’s okay you know.”

“I dunno.... I guess... yeah. I do have a hard time showing how I feel. I just... don’t know how.”

“That’s okay,” she said, sweetly. She looked up at him again and smiled. “It’s part of learning how to have a relationship, right?”

“I dunno... I guess... I dunno.”

They stayed quiet for a minute. Neither one would look each other in the eye for a while, until they looked at each other at the same time. They stared at each other...and then Cody looked away. Nick looked past him, and wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him.

“I’m sorry. You liked me for so long.... You didn’t deserve to be treated like that.” Tears met her eyes again. I shook my head as I watched her try to grasp at something out of her reach. I wanted to go over to her, but I knew it was out my hands.

“It’s okay,” he said. He hugged her back and kissed her quickly on the cheek. “It’s okay.” She nodded in his arms.

“So... can we try...?” she asked. It broke my heart to watch her suffer like this.

“I dunno....” He shrugged. He smiled at her, but it seemed... forced. I don’t think she noticed though because she smiled back and hugged him one last time.

I walked away from the sight trying to make sense of it all.

Just then, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned and saw Nick standing there.

“Hey.... Look, I-” she started. I held up a hand.

“No, wait. Let me go first.”

“No, let me. You were right. I was being selfish. Go have fun on your little adventure. I’m sorry I did that to you.”

“No, Nick. I was wrong for saying that. I knew what you were going through. It’s my fault.” She put her head down and looked away. I sighed. “Come here.” I stepped over to her and hugged her into my chest. She laid her head in my shoulder and hugged me around the waist. “It’s okay. We’ll be back.”

“I know.” She pulled back and smiled at me. “Be careful.”

“I will be... promise.”

I walked away as Nick said goodbye to Mike.

“Good luck with the necklace,” she said.

“Yeah, thanks....”

“No problem. Be careful, alright?”

“I will be. And I’ll make sure your boyfriend doesn’t do anything stupid.” He smirked at her, and she laughed lightly.

“Thanks....” He looked at her with a questioning stare, but Nick just tilted her head to the side. “What?”

“If you don’t want to tell me... you don’t have to,” he said with a shake of his head. “But I don’t want to watch you suffer alone.” He started to walk away.

“Thank you. I’ll be fine,” she said. He turned to her and nodded with a small wave. She nodded back with a wave.

And so... we departed.

_*Nick*_

An hour later, we were all sitting around the campfire, trying to get dinner going.

“Just a little more....” I said, rubbing the two sticks together. They were red-hot, but only smoke rose from them. “Almost got it....” In a spark, a small flame erupted from the wood. “Yes!” I threw the wood in the logs and got the fire going.

“Nice job,” Brie complimented. I smirked.

“I guess I learned a thing or two at camp last year.”

“Show off,” Mei muttered. Brie, Ty Lee and I laughed.

“Well hey, you’re the only one here that can cook, so you should get a move on,” I added.

“Sucks for you. I’ll get started when I’m ready.” She sat down and folded her arms. I raised my eyebrows and looked to Brie and Ty Lee, mouthing, three...two...one.... “Damn it! I’m hungry too!” She got her things and went to work.

“So what’s been going on with you and Ray?” I asked Ty Lee.

“Oh, we’re great! I’ve never been so happy!” She smiled, glowing and clapped. Brie, Mei and I laughed.

“That’s so cute!” Brie jeered.

“I’m really happy for you guys,” I said, smiling.

“What about you and Cody?” she asked me. I looked down.

“We’re... getting there....” Thankfully, Mei took the hint and changed the subject.

“Zuko and I are getting closer. The other night we did a stupid game of twenty questions, and it got real deep,” she bragged. I laughed light-heartedly.

“How do you play?” Ty Lee asked. Brie, Mei and I gave each other quizzical looks.

“Uh... you ask a person a question, they have to answer it, and then they ask you a question until you have 20 each so you learn about each other....” Mei said, extremely slowly. I laughed under my breath.

“Oh ok! Ray and I should play that!” We laughed together and Ty Lee laughed along, not understanding.

We basically continued our conversations like that for awhile. I tried to keep the conversation away from me.

Mei handed me my food.

“Lily still isn’t here,” Ty Lee said. “We can’t let her starve.”

I thought for a minute. I walked over to Mei and took Lily’s dish. “I’ll give it to her.” I wasn’t sarcastic. I just wanted to at least have the tension cease. I walked toward our rooms and entered the building. The halls were eerily quiet as I made my way down. I stopped when I came to Lily’s door and knocked twice.

“Come in.”

I slid the door open and stepped inside with the food.

“I brought you dinner,” I said, calmly. Inside, I wanted to punch her... run from her... throw the food at her. But instead, I walked over to the bench she was sitting on and sat down next to her, placing the food between us. “You can’t starve you know.” She didn’t look up. She just kept playing with the necklace she wore that Mike gave to her a long time ago.

“Leave.” The word was almost hissed as she whispered it.

I narrowed my eyes but tried to stay calm. “Fine by me.” I walked to the door and stood in the entryway for a second. “I don’t need you, and neither does Mike.”

“Excuse me?” she hissed again. “What did you say?”

“I said...” I turned back to her. “Mike doesn’t deserve a bitch like you. He deserves more than that. He’s an amazing friend, always trying to make everyone else happy and laugh.... You? You just lead him on and give him nothing in return. You really are as clueless.” I shook my head. “You’ve hurt him enough already. Just... leave him alone.”

I shut the door behind me.

_The next day..._

“Leave them alone!”

“I’m not doing anything anymore!”

I ran down the hall as I heard the screaming get louder.

“What’s going on?” Mei shouted as she came up next to me.

“I think Brie and Lily are fighting!”

We kept running until we came outside. Sure enough, the two were yelling at each other.

“Do you have any idea how much pain you caused Nick?” Brie screamed. Her fists were shaking.

“I didn’t know before!”

“Oh, sure! You had no idea you were hurting one of your friends!” Brie yelled, sarcastically. “That’s why you didn’t tell Mike what was going on, right?”

“Fine! When we get home, I’m out of here! I didn’t ask to be part of this stupid game! I don’t have this gash on my shoulder because I wanted to play soldier! I’m done with all of you!” She turned around and stormed away to her room.

Just then, Ty Lee walked outside.

“Did I miss something?” she asked.

“Little princess wants out,” Brie stated.

_That night...._

I was worried about the guys.

And with Cody and I... something... _changed_.

“Guys! Look!” Mei said. We were outside, and all of the guys came running toward us from the opposite side of the platform. “You’re back!” Mei and Zuko ran to each other and he swept her up into a hug and kiss.

Ray ran to Ty Lee and they... well... made-out.

Mike ran over to me with Cody following behind.

“Okay,” he started, breathlessly, “ends up that we were right about the Black Lotus here and on Earth being connected. Apparently Azula was telling the truth.This necklace was brought to Earth by a firebender. No one knows who, but we’ll have to find that out later.”

“So basically, there are firebenders on Earth?” I asked.

Mike nodded. “Yeah, so that could mean it’s anybody.”

“Great....” I said, rolling my eyes. I smirked. “Though, this could be fun.”

Zuko walked over with Mei. “It has to be our job to find out who brought the necklace to Earth, and if they’re part of the Black Lotus Organization. If we find them and they aren’t part of the Black Lotus, then they could probably help us.”

“Good point,” Mei said. “One problem though. How are we supposed to find them?”

“My bet is on the fact that it’s someone we know,” I said. “We can probably figure it out. I mean, they’d probably know my dad or at least my family. We can start our search there.”

“Yeah,” Mike agreed.

I looked over at Cody, and he seemed to avoid my gaze. He didn’t even say hi to me when they got back.

I stepped away from the group and made eye-contact with Cody. I gestured toward the boy’s dorms and and he soon followed. We made our way down the hall to his bedroom, and I shut the door behind us.

“What’s up?” he said.

My eyes widened. “Is there something wrong?”

We were a foot apart, and he hung his head, putting his hands in his jeans’ pockets. “I dunno. I guess I just didn’t know what to say.”

I sighed. “Look.... Is this... is... us... going to work?” I looked away from him and brushed the tears from my eyes. “I’ll be honest with you. I want it to. I really care about you. And I’m willing to wait for you to be ready for us. But you need to tell me how you feel too, otherwise I don’t know how this is going to work.”

He shrugged. “I just... I dunno. I feel like... like.... Maybe we’re just taking this way too seriously, ya know? I mean, I just wanna goof off and be a kid. We have plenty of time for growing up and having relationships.”

I stayed quiet. I was speechless.

“Maybe it’s me. I guess I’m just....”

“Not mature enough for a relationship yet,” we both said, simultaneously.

“So then... what do you want to do?” I asked. “Do you... want to take it... slower?” I said, shaking my head. “But maybe.... Well, you tell me what you want. Don’t worry about me. Just tell me the truth. I’ll be fine.” I knew deep down that because I cared about him enough, that whatever he said and whatever made him happy should make me happy.

“But that’s the thing. I know... what I want, but I don’t know how to say it. I mean, I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Don’t worry about me. Please... Just... Just say it.” I hung my head on my last words. I clenched my eyes and waited for what I knew would come next.

“Well... I think that maybe... I’m not ready for a relationship yet. I think... we should wait till we’re older.”

Tears threatened to fall over my eyes, but I forced them back. I couldn’t upset him too. That would just make everything worse.

We stood in silence for a few minutes, him shifting on his feet, and me shaking all over.

“So that’s it then?” I said, at last. “We’re... _over_.” My voice broke on the last word.

“But we don’t have to be over,” he said. I looked up at him. “I still like you. I will. But for now... we can just... be on hold. But remember when I asked you out and we were talking about how we were great friends?”

“How could I forget?” I laughed... barely breathing. He laughed too, but it was a cold sound.

“Yeah. So... can we try for now, to go back to that? Just like the good old days? I want to keep that friendship for now.”

I nodded. “Yeah... I’d like to try too. I’ll just need some time, first.”

“Yeah, but I still like you.” he said again. My stomach knotted tighter. I didn’t know how many times I could hear him say that. “And we’ll try again when we’re older, right?” As much as I wanted his words to be true, I knew that there wasn’t a way of knowing, especially if I wanted to move on.

“When we’re older, and you’re ready... then... sure.” I smiled at him, meakly.

We stood in silence for a few seconds before we closed the space between us and hugged. I breathed in his scent and took in his touch for what would be the last time for a while. I didn’t let tears even come near my eyes then. I was too numb to it all. I lifted my head and kissed his cheek softly one last time.

Then we pulled away.

“Goodbye, Cody,” I said, walking to the door.

“For now,” he replied.

“For now,” I answered. I slid the door shut behind me.

And I walked away from Cody....

And I tried to build a new shelter… inside myself.


	13. Independence

Chapter Thirteen: Independence

_*Zuko*_

That night at dinner... something was... _off._

I walked onto the patio where I found Mei cooking by the fire. I came up behind her and put my arms around her little waist.

“Smells amazing... _but not as good as you_ ,” I whispered playfully in her ear. She giggled and turned to face me, kissing me lovingly on the lips.

“ _Thank you,_ ” she whispered into the kiss.

Then we heard a cough behind us.

“Oh, hey, Cody,” Mei said, lightly. “Where’s Nick?”

“Don’t know.” He shrugged and sat on one of the cushions by the fire.

Mei rolled her eyes. “Well, go on! Go get her! Dinner’s ready.”

Cody only shrugged. Mei and I exchanged a confused glace.

“Cody... go get Nick,” Mei said. This time, he pretended he didn’t hear her. “Cody!”

“ _What?”_  he snapped. Mei and I were completely taken aback.

His eyes were red and squinted, as if fighting back tears and his cheeks were flushed. This was the first time I’d ever seen emotion escape from him... _ever._ And by the look on Mei’s face, this was her first time too. Then her eyes widened in realization.

“I’m going to find Nick,” she said, getting up.

“Mei, wait! What’s-?”

“Stay here!” she called. She broke into a sprint toward the girl’s rooms.

_*Nick*_

_What... happened...?_

I sat on the floor of my room, staring at the wall.

There’s just... _nothing left._

I pulled back my black sweatshirt’s sleeve....

_My arm... scarred forever...._

It starts to burn with an intense fire that needs to be put out. My head starts to hurt with a pounding rage that runs through my whole body. I shake with pain as I choke down a scream.

“Hey, Nick...?” someone calls from down the hall.

I recognize the voice immediately as Mei. I snapped my head around to looked at her.

I struggled to pull my arm away, but it’s too hard to resist the temptation.... But no one’s seen me doing this before... not even Mei... or Zuko.

Just as my nails fell on my skin, Mei slid the door open. Her eyes are wide with fear as she looks from my face stained with tears, my hair wild, and my body shaking back to my arm. She takes a tentative step forward.

She sat down at my side, staring at my arm as my other hand covered it. She took both my wrists and held them in her lap. I struggled slightly to push her off, but to no avail.

“ _Why can’t I push you off? I always could!”_ I screeched again in rage as tears fell down my cheeks.

“It’s because you’re in your weakest state of mind right now.”

I fell my lungs stretch from an exasperated scream. _“I don’t want to fight it anymore! Just let me do it!”_

“Why? So you can die, Nick? Is that what you want?”

I cried harder and screamed louder. “ _What don’t you understand?! I’ve been waiting for death for years! I just need to take away the paint!”_ I twisted to get away from her, but she wouldn’t let me up.

“I won’t let you!” Her voice broke as she spoke. “Nick, this isn’t you! STOP IT! You’re scaring me!”

I twisted as hard as I could against her and I started to break free, but then she threw her whole body down on top of me, releasing the air from my lungs.

“This isn’t you! You don’t want this!”

“ _Yes I do! I want to take it all away!”_

“No you don’t! Think about all the people you’re hurting!”

_“Like who? Cody? He doesn’t care about me! He never did! He just tore me in fucking HALF, leading me on like that!”_ I screamed again.

“Fuck Cody! What about Ray, Brie, Zuko, your family, Mike...?!”

“I... _I don’t care!”_ Something started to click in my head, but I tried suppressing it.

“If you didn’t care, you wouldn’t have hesitated!”

I screamed and stopped struggling. I started bawling my eyes out, but still, Mei wouldn’t let go. “ _I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!”_

We sat like that for a few minutes before the door slid open wide.

“Nick!” Zuko and Mike yelled. Next to him were Ray, Ty Lee, and Brie.

“I’m sorry!” I shouted between gasps of air. “I’m sorry!”

“What is going on?” Zuko yelled. “Mei, get off her!” Zuko ran over and kneeled down next to Mei.

“No! She tried cutting herself!” She held up my bad arm, with the sleeve pulled back. Ty Lee looked away, Ray shielding her. Mike’s eyes grew wide as I looked at him, a defeated expression on my face.

Mike walked over slowly, and sat down. He picked up my arm and squeezed my hand in his, squinting his eyes... Mike’s form of crying.

“You could’ve come to me....” he said in a low voice.

“I’m sorry....” I said, tears falling onto his hand as he raised it to wipe the tears off my face.

“Don’t be sorry to me. Be sorry to yourself.” I nodded and squeezed his hand back, gently.

“Hey, what’s going-”

Everyone turned to the door.

Cody.

Tears filled his eyes and he ran off.

_*Zuko*_

“Everything packed?” I asked, walking into Nick’s room. She put her black messenger bag over her head on her shoulder and nodded with a small smile.

“Yeah, she said quietly, “Thanks.”

“No problem,” I said with a small smile.

We walked down the hallway toward the main landing, but suddenly she looked at me with an odd expression.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“How’s... how’s Cody?” she asked quietly. She looked down at the floor.

“He’s... ok, I guess.” I didn’t want to tell her that seeing her that way last night devastated him, but I also couldn’t tell her that since this morning, he hasn’t said a word about it.

“Okay,” she said. There wasn’t any emotion behind it, so I couldn’t tell if it really was okay.

“Ready to leave now?” Mei asked. She looked at me as if to say, ‘how is she?’ so I shrugged and mouthed ‘she seems fine.’ Everyone chorused a ‘ready,’ so we all started for the edge where the vines were to climb up and out of the mountains.

“Wait,” Mei said. She pointed to Lily, slowly walking across the way. She stood at least five feet away from us.

“Okay, so what’s the plan, man?” Ray asked me. I nodded to Nick.

“We need to find safety where we can get information about the White and Black Lotus Organizations. The places where that can happen are the capitals of each nation, and the closest one is the Northern Water Tribe. Obviously we can’t walk there, but we’ll find boats and make plenty of pit-stops to get there. Plus, that’s where we’ll be able to find Ursa and Iroh.”

“Only problem now is how do we get up there?” Mike said. We all looked up uneasily at the vines next to the ledge. To get to them, you’d have to jump, grab on, and pull yourself up about 30 feet. And downward was a gray mist that led to nowhere.

“The biggest of us has to go first to test the vine. And the most gutsy has to go last,” I added. “Since I’m oldest and tallest, we’d have to let me go first.” I walked backward and everyone stood clear of me. I ran forward, gaining speed, until I finally jumped off the edge. I heard gasps as I reached up and grabbed the vine with my right arm, pulling my full body onto it. I started to pull myself up until I reached the top and gave them a thumbs-up.

The next to go was Lily, since if we didn’t force her to go now, she’d never make it. She ran and jumped onto the vine and slowly made her way up. I grabbed her wrist and threw her next to me, roughly. She grunted and walked away.

The next to go was Ray and Ty Lee. Ty Lee went first all the way up and Ray soon followed. Her jump was slick a graceful while Ray’s was klutzy and nearly missed. But they both made it up.

Brie was next who ran quickly and jumped on with ease. Yet it took her awhile to actually make it up.

Mei ran to the vine and jumped on the quickest out of all of us.

Cody was next.

“You sure you can do this?” Mike asked him. Cody nodded. Nick looked away.

“I’ll be fine.”

He started at the fountain and ran as fast as he could to the edge. But at the last second, he hesitated before the jump.

“CODY!” Mike screamed. All of us gasped.

Nick and Mike ran to the edge as they saw Cody dangling from the edge with one hand. His eyes were wide and he groaned attempting to hang on.

“Give me your hand!” Mike shouted at him. Cody tried to reach up and Mike laid on the floor to reach it. They locked wrists.

“Grab his other hand!” At first, I didn’t realize Mike was talking to Nick. But she was paralyzed in confusion.

“Nick!” Cody screamed. This shocked her out of it, and she reached over, grabbing his wrist.

“PULL!” Mike shouted. Both Nick and Mike struggled to crawl backwards while holding Cody. I could see their faces turning red, but then they managed to pull him back up.

The conversation that followed was spoken so low that none of us at the top could hear it, but it looked like Cody thanked Nick and they hugged.

This time, Cody made it to the vine and managed to pull himself up, but lost all energy at the top. We pulled him the rest of the way up and Brie helped him focus on breathing right.

Then I looked down again and saw Mike and Nick arguing.

“I’m NOT leaving you down here! You go first!” Nick insisted.

“No, you! If I go first, then there’s no one behind you to help you up. I can’t leave you down here knowing that.” Mike urged.

“That’s the reason I won’t leave _you_ down here!  Just go!”

“No! You’re going first!”

“Guys!” I yelled down to them. “Up here, we agreed that Nick should go first since what happened last time this argument happened.”

She tensed and then nodded to us.

Mike took her hand then. “Nick,” Mike said sternly. “I can’t go up there knowing that something can happen to you. Now go.”

Nick stood there, utterly stunned.

“Thanks... but I feel the same way.”

“Just go first... for me.”

She finally nodded. Nick came up with ease, and Mike immediately followed behind her.

_*Zuko*_

“Zuko...?”

I rubbed my eyes and craned my neck to look at the door of the tent. We’d used our blankets and some sticks to set up camp in the woods. The nights were cold, but we managed.

“Nick? That you?”

“Sorry to wake you.... I couldn’t sleep.”

I stood and walked out of the tent, bending down as to not hit my head. I took her fragile, cold, tiny hands, and walked to the campfire, lighting it with a point of my finger and sitting on the grassy forest floor. Nick sat down next to me, and I pulled her close, hugging her shoulders as she leaned her head on me.

“Well...?” I asked, calmly. I felt her tense, and she grunted.

“You know me too well.”

“I know you as well as any brother should.”

She was quiet for a minute, deep in thought. “Do you hate me?”

The question was so abrupt, I blinked. Then I laughed. “Yes, Nick, I hate you. That’s why I’m up at three in the morning, hugging you by the fire.”

She laughed once but her tone stayed serious. “Seriously speaking, why don’t you all hate me?”

“We love you. Yes, you hurt me and the others but wanting to do that,” she cringed at the words, “but we forgive you because we love you.”

She burst into tears. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry....” She continued muttering over and over, so I pulled her closer and let her cry, rubbing her back. But with every sentence, I replied, “It’s okay.” A few minutes later, the sobs ceased and she cried quietly. I looked up at the stars and hoped she knew how much we all cared and worried about her. I looked toward the tent when I heard a rustle of leaves and saw Mike standing there, calmly as always. He inclined his head toward Nick and furrowed his brows. I nodded.

“I think someone else wants to talk to you,” I whispered. She rubbed her eyes and blearily looked to Mike and smiled through tears. “I’ll let you guys catch up.” I stood and walked back to the tent. When they thought I’d gone to sleep, I pulled back the tent and saw Mike sit with Nick, wiping the tears from her eyes and smoothed her hair. He pulled her into a hug, and she relaxed.

There was movement next to me and I heard heavy breathing.

“Is she going to be happy?” Cody whispered to me.

I nodded. “With some care from us, you can distance yourself without her even noticing.”

We smiled at the sound of Nick’s little laugh into Mike’s arms.

_*Nick*_

“You care about me that much?” I asked.

“Enough to put aside everything you claim to be ‘bad,’ then yes.”

“But I’ve hurt you so badly. I... almost cut when you said I could go to you. I promised I would.” I felt tears roll down my face. Mike pulled back gently and wiped the tears from my eyes.

“But I forgive you. That’s what matters.”

“I hate myself for hurting you... all of you.”

“If you love me… _all_ of us… you’ll forgive yourself.”

I blinked. “Why?”

“Because we love and forgive you.”

I sobbed and fell into his arms.

“I love you too.”

“I know you do.”

_*Zuko*_

“Does she have any idea?” Mike whispered to me.

“Probably not....” I replied.

Nick had some map she found in a magazine about my world. She wanted to guide us somewhere, but we had no idea if she knew where she was going.

“Nick, are you sure-?” I started.

“We’re here!” All of us look up and see a huge mountain with a winding path up the side.

“You’re not serious....” Mei groaned.

“I am. Do you recognize it?”

“No....”

Nick groaned in exasperation.

“You’re groaning?!” Ray yelled. “We’ve been walking for a week according to your interpretation of where we are based on a map that you found in some book!”

“You should know where we are if you watched every episode.”

Ray looked up and his eyes widened. “Oh f-!”

“Yep, that’s right.” I looked to Mike who was utterly confused, and he just shrugged.

“Nick, where are we?”

In unison, Mei, Nick, Cody and Ray said, “The Northern Air Temple,” only, Nick was joyful while Ray, Cody and Mei were monotone.

“We’re gonna walk all the way up there?” Mike complained.

“Yup!” Nick replied. “I’ve always wanted to see what it was like. And here we are. Plus, we need to spend the night somewhere. We won’t make it all the way to the North Pole by nightfall. We can get supplies here.”

I shrugged. “Alright, let’s go guys....” Groans were heard from the back of the group.

I whispered to Nick, “Would it kill these guys to be a bit more athletic?”

“They’re lazy as shit. But if we’re going to get out of here alive, we need to whip them into shape.”

“Good point.”

_*Nick*_

“We’re here!”

All of us looked up to see the temple. It was monstrously sized with green rooves, tall towers, and gliders everywhere in all of its glory. I was in awe.

“Hey Nick,” Mei said, “how are we gonna get help from Teo if he doesn’t know any of us? He doesn’t even know Zuko.”

I thought for a moment. “Wait, yes he does. When Zuko joined them at the Western Air Temple.”

“But what happened after that episode? Teo didn’t go with them to Ember Island.”

I looked over to Zuko.

“Beats me,” he said with a shrug. “The next time I saw him was at my coronation.”

I nodded. “Maybe we can find out what happened.”

The temple was enormous, and as we walked around, we realized it was more like its own town than anything else.

“Hey guys, I think we should split for a little and try to find some supplies and a place to stay. Zuko, Brie and Ray, go find a place we can spend the night. Zuko, you got money?”

“Yeah, some gold pieces.”

“Cool. Ty-Lee, and Cody, go get some supplies from the shops. We need food, water, and some more blankets.” I walked over and handed the money to Cody, looking down. “I trust you with the money. Lily, go with them,” I shouted to her where she stood ten feet away from the rest of us. She walked next to Cody in silence. I narrowed my eyes at her.

“Mike, Mei and I will try to find Teo. Meet back here in an hour.”

_*Zuko*_

“Enough!” I shout at them. “If I hear one more word about unicorns and robot unicorns, I’ll rip you two in half!”

“Geez, you’re such a party pooper, Mr. Fire-Up-My-Ass,” Ray said sarcastically.

“Why you bein’ such a pouty penguin?” Brie said in a childish tone. I rolled my eyes.

“Excuse me, sir?” I tapped a man on the shoulder. When he turned, the three of us gasped.

He had brown, graying hair that stuck out on the sides with gray eyes, a huge moustache and beard. His eyebrows were burnt partly off, and he had wood in place of some of his fingers.

“Yes, can I help you young kids?”

“Uh, yes sir,” I said, regaining composure. Though Ray and Brie stared.... “Please, ignore my friends. We’re looking for a place to stay the night.... And I normally don’t use the title, but my name is Firelord Zuko, and I was hoping for some help.”

“It is an honor to meet you, Firelord,” he said with a bow. “There aren’t any inns here or fancy places to stay, but you and your friends are welcome to stay with my son and I.”

“Anything is fine, really. Thank you very much. But there are more of us, nine total.”

“Yes, yes, that’s fine. See, I’m sort of the mayor of this town. We brought ourselves here after our little Earth Kingdom town was flooded you see.”

“How unfortunate,” I said, pitying the poor man. “My apologies. But please, call me Zuko.” I bowed to him politely.

“Thank you, sir. Come this way. My son Teo and his friends are here as well.”

“I’ve actually met Teo before,” I said.

“Really?”

“After the invasion of the Fire Nation... the first time.”

“Oh wonderful,” he said, smiling. We walked down the small street lined with little shops as we spoke. At the end of the block was a large cottage. “Here we are. Come on in,” he said with a huge smile.

“Hey mister?” Brie asked.

“Yes, my young lady? Oh dear, I am so sorry, I never introduced myself to your friends. I am the Mechanist. And what might your name be?”

“I’m Brie, and this is my friend Ray. And I was going to ask you... in a fight between a penguin and a robot unicorn, who would win?”

I face-palmed.

“The robot unicorn of course!” Ray yelled.

“No, penguins are small and can slide under them for a sneak attack!” Brie yelled back.

“Not if they have lasers!”

“Um, sir?” The Mechanist asked me. “What in the world are they talking about?”

“You’ll get used to it.”

_*Nick*_

“So where have you been, Teo?” I asked. “After the Western Air Temple, you disappeared.” Mike, Mei, Zuko, Brie, Ray, and I were in Teo’s house eating dinner, which consisted of rice, noodles, and tea. Surprisingly, The Duke and Pipsqueak were here as well.

“Well, after we left, it was just me, The Duke, and Pipsqueak. We knew we couldn’t fight on our own, so we decided that we played our part in the war. So I told them they could come live with me. It took us awhile, but we walked all the way back okay. We had to just wait it out from there, sometimes making the trip to the village nearby to hear the latest news on the war. Once we heard the war was over, we took some gliders and headed to the Fire Nation capital as fast as we could in the hope of meeting everyone down there. That’s when we got invited to the ceremony and I found my dad again.”

“Wow, Teo, that’s some story,” Mei said.

“Yeah....” Mike agreed.

Just then, Cody, Ty-Lee and Lily walked in with the Mechanist.

“We got all of the supplies,” Cody said to Zuko.

“Have something to eat.” the Mechanist said. “You must be hungry.”

“So Nick,” Teo said in a whisper, “have you heard anything about Azula lately?”

“Come to think of it, no.... She vanished after the volcano erupted in the Fire Nation.”

“So then where are you guys headed?” he asked out loud.

“To the Northern Water Tribe,” Zuko said. “My uncle and mom took refuge there....” Zuko seemed to reminisce. Mei put a comforting hand on his shoulder and kissed his scarred cheek. He smiled at her.

“We’ll give you a boat,” the Mechanist chimed in. “You can leave off the shore at the base of the mountain.”

“Thank you so much,” I replied. “We’re heading north, guys.”

_*Nick*_

The Mechanist was up-to-date with all of the new inventions since the war, including the steam engine; so luckily, he gave us a small steam-powered boat. It was very basic, with only a deck the size of the average living room, and a small wheelhouse. We had been on the water for a few days. For most of the trip, Zuko steered the boat with Cody, Ray and Mike inside while Cody and Lily stood on the deck staring out over the water. Mei, Brie and I went below deck and laid down on the only two beds the boat had.

“What’s the plan once we actually get there?” Mei asked me. “The Northern Water Tribe is like, a huge city....”

“I know, but Zuko could talk to the Chief and we’ll find out if he knows anything. If he knows they’re there, then we’ll start looking. We’ll have to rent out a few rooms at an inn for a few days while we look.”

“How much longer?” Mei asked.

I shrugged. “Probably not much. I’ll go ask Zuko.” I started to climb to the deck when I stopped and hid behind the wheelhouse. Cody and Lily were talking.

“Do you think Nick’s okay?” It was Cody’s voice.

“Who cares?” was the quiet reply. “I just want to get out of here. I hate her and everyone on this boat.”

“I guess.... It’s kind of my fault. I didn’t tell her for so long and now look at what I’ve done.”

“So what? You don’t like her. Neither do I.”

“But I do.... I’m just... not ready for that.”

There was silence for a minute. I poked my head out to watch the scene.

“I guess neither am I. That explains why neither of us did anything with Mike or Nick.” Lily said.

There was a short pause again, and then a smirk passed over Lily’s face. Cody looked at her questioningly, but she passed it off as nothing. I crept around the wheelhouse and slid in the door without either noticing.

“Hey Nick,” Mike said with a smile. “Zuko said we should be there soon.”

“I was just coming up to ask that, actually.”

“It shouldn’t be much longer,” Zuko said. “In fact, you can see it over the horizon.”

I looked out over the clear blue water and saw icebergs in the distance. After a few minutes, we were close enough to see the symbol of the Water Tribe. I ran to Mei and Brie and told them and we all walked upstairs.

The front gate towered over us as we approached, and we all stared in awe.

“Who comes to the Northern Water Tribe?” a man shouted from the top of the wall.

Zuko came out of the wheelhouse. “Firelord Zuko would like to speak with Chief Arnook of the Northern Water Tribe!” he called up. The men at the top of the wall bowed to Zuko and started to open the gate. Water poured down the sides of the gate and the wall began to sink into the water below. We pulled the boat into the city as the wall rose up again behind us. The gates unlocked and closed behind us as we made it into the city. We made our way over to the palace where we were greeted by soldiers who escorted us all off the boat.

“Sir,” asked Mei to one of the soldiers, “did the people of the Fire Nation ever arrive here?”

“In fact, they did. There’s an inn back a block or two that way,” he pointed it out, “where Chief Arnook allowed all of them to stay. I’m not sure of much else though. The rest is classified information for now.”

“Thank you very much,” I told him. We proceeded to walk into the palace together. Once inside, we were surrounded by immense walls and a ceiling at least 30 feet tall.

“Welcome,” Chief Arnook approached us and smiled as he bowed.

We all bowed back. “Thank you for speaking with us, sir,” Zuko said. “Have you heard the news of Royal Caldera City?”

“Indeed I have, and I am truly sorry; however, the people of the city have made it here alive but for some, barely.” He sighed. “I’m afraid some fell very ill after their long trip here without much to eat or drink. Our healers are doing everything they can, and mostly everyone has recovered but a few. The families are staying in an inn reserved for Fire Nation citizens for the time being.” Chief Arnook paused and then smiled. “I believe there are two people here who would like to see you.”

Just then, escorted by soldiers, walked in Ursa and Iroh themselves.

“Mother! Uncle!” He ran up to them and gripped them in a tight hug. “I’ve been so worried about you. I’m so sorry for leaving you two behind....”

“It is alright,” Iroh told him, “as long as you are safe.” They hugged again.

“Mother, there are a few people I’d like you to meet. These are my friends,” he said as he took her hand and led her over to where we stood. We all bowed to her. Zuko pointed out each of us to Ursa and stopped at Mei and I. “This young lady here is Nick, and she has become what a true sister should be to me, and she has done everything she possibly could to get me back on my feet.” I smiled and bowed again.

“It is a pleasure to meet you,” she said. She was soft-spoken but genuine.

“A pleasure to meet you as well,” I replied.

“And this...” he said walking over to Mei as he took her arm in his, “is Mei. She is the love of my life.” It was apparent that Mei had stopped breathing with a deep red blush. Zuko kissed her cheek.

“Nice to meet you,” Mei said practically shaking.

“What a beautiful young lady you are. Zuko is lucky to have found you,” she said, smiling. Mei visibly relaxed.

“Excuse me, Chief Arnook,” I asked, “I’ve been told that the Spirit Oasis has a lot of special properties.... Would it be able to take all of us home?”

He looked at me questioningly and Zuko cut in. “They aren’t exactly from here. For the last few months, I’ve been in their world. It’s very different from ours with all sorts of technology and advancements. But we need to know how to get back.”

Ursa and I caught each other’s eyes.

“Are you going back with your friends?” she asked Zuko.

Mei and I held our breath.

“To be honest, I do want to go back.... But my people need a Firelord. And I don’t want to just leave them behind.” Mei had tears in her eyes that she bit back on. “However, I simply can’t leave my friends. They’re family to me too now. But I need someone to rule the Fire Nation; therefore, I coronate you,” he said, touching Iroh’s shoulder, “Firelord Iroh. And of course, Mother will help you rule.” All of us started to clap as we jumped on Zuko, hugging him.

“Well, I think the Spirit Oasis can be of use to you,” said Chief Arnook.

A few minutes later, we all were taken back to the Oasis behind the palace. Zuko said a tearful goodbye to his uncle and mother.

“Cheer up, Zuko,” I told him. “Now that we know we’re welcome, we can come visit and make the trip over to the Fire Nation.”

“We shall rebuild Royal Caldera City,” Firelord Iroh said, “but we shall rename it to allow all people to join us, if some Water Tribe people would like to come back. We shall call it Republic City. And I will rule the people fairly and justly.”

“That sounds great,” Mei said.

All of us turned to the Oasis and stood at the edge, holding hands.

“We came here looking to save the Fire Nation,” I said. “But we had some losses who won’t be returning with us home. I just want to say to the great spirits of this world, take care of them on their journeys, wherever they may go.”

“Agreed,” everyone said in unison.

“Let’s go home.”

We jumped.

_*Zuko*_

“Back in school.... How weird is that?” Mike said to me as we walked to our lockers.

“I know.... But it feels good to be back.”

“Do you know what everyone thinks about Matt and Chad?” Ray asked.

“I saw on the news this morning that Matt’s parents were looking for him, but Chad’s finally free of his family,” I told them. “How’s Ty Lee adjusting?”

“We turned the basement of my place into an apartment,” Ray said, “though she was supposed to live with Mike, I asked my parents first and they said okay. My mom always wanted a girl so here’s her chance I guess.” We all laughed.

I opened my locker and a piece of paper fell out. I picked it up and opened it.

“What’s that?” Nick said as she walked up behind me with Mei and Brie.

“Take a guess,” I said, rolling my eyes. I handed her the note. She read it quickly and crumpled it up.

“Black Lotus?” Mei guessed.

“Pssh,” Nick scoffed. “Nothing we can’t handle.”

_Later…_

“Wanna dance?” I asked her. The girl of my dreams looked up at me with those gorgeous blue eyes. I got choked up whenever I see them. “It’s the last song.”

“Of course,” she said with a laugh. “I need to make it up to you since the last time we danced we were interrupted.” I held out my hand to her, and she placed her hand in mine. I walked her out onto the dance floor as I put my hands on her small waist and she draped her arms around my neck. Across the room, I saw Mike do the same with Nick, but he spun her around as they joked and laughed. Mei put her head on my shoulder and we stayed that way through half the song.

“I never thought I could learn to trust and love again,” I whispered in her ear, “but you’ve shown me that I can.... Mei... I truly do love you.”

She pulled back gently with tears in her eyes. She smiled. “I love you.”

Mei put her hands around my neck and pulled close to me. We closed our eyes and touched lips....

It was magical.

_*Nick*_

“I’ve never been happier in my life,” I told him, laughing as he spun me around and dipped me again.

He smiled down at me. “Good. Stay that way forever.” He pulled me back up and held me close. “I’ll always be here for you. Know that no matter what, you can count on me. I promise you that.”

“I know that. But I want you to know.... No matter what I say or do, I won’t leave you... or any of the others. I’ll be here always. I promise,” I said through tears. Mike took his finger and gently brushed them away.

“I already knew that.” He pulled me close and hugged me tight.

“This...” I whispered. “Right now... This is home.”


	14. Time

Chapter Fourteen: Time

_Three years later…_

_*Zuko*_

“I still can’t believe it....” I mumbled to myself as I dragged myself into the driver’s seat of my truck.

Last week was spring break of our senior year of high school, and we had returned to the Avatar world as we all did on a regular basis, once every month or so. Nothing usually went on, but things had changed... _drastically._

Since _The Legend of Korra_ began, the Avatar world had almost... fast-forward in time.

We weren’t brought to Ember Island or the Northern Water Tribe... or even Republic City. We were brought to the Southern Water Tribe where we stayed with Katara. The rumor was that I was traveling the world... and in a way, I was... just not that one.

We stayed with Katara for a week and I practiced my fire-bending with the White Lotus while Nick practiced healing with Katara as she usually did on our monthly visits to the Northern Tribe, with the other healers.

Anyway... I couldn’t get over the fact that everyone was gone.... Just like that.

But the Black Lotus wasn’t.

We’ve been hunted down on a near-daily basis in the last two years. And they’re after Nick and I, and it’s not just about getting us anymore; it’s about eliminating our allies as well.

Nick put a hand on my shoulder, snapping me back to reality. “It’ll be okay. We’re all here for you.”

Later when we got to school, Nick and I walked up the stairs to her locker she shared with Mike. Him, Mei and Brie were already there, talking as they waited for us. Mei immediately wrapped me in a tight hug and kissed my cheek.

“Are you okay?” she asked, a look of concern evident.

I gave her a small smile. “I will be.” I kissed her cheek and she smiled back. Nick hugged Brie and Mike good morning.

“So Ray and Ty Lee are really gone?” Nick asked Mike.

He nodded. “They moved out over break. They went somewhere in North Carolina. But he’s been texting me and he says it’s pretty nice down there. He says he’s happy as long as he’s with Ty Lee.”

“I’m happy for them,” Nick said, smiling. We were all relatively happy when you put it into perspective. We’ve been through hell in the last few years, but we somehow managed okay. Lily and Cody left the group too. As soon as we got back, Lily never spoke to any of us again.

Cody and Nick stopped talking, and he fell out of touch pretty quickly after that. But more recently, we were all talking again, even Nick and Cody. He just had his own life now.

But at this point, no one really messed with our group. We all came into school with cuts and bruises constantly. There were all sorts of rumors that we were in a gang or had abusive parents or something. But mainly we played it off as that we all were accident-prone and rode our bikes a little too fast.

“By the way,” Mike started, “there’s some guys sitting around the outskirts of the school’s property. Looks to me like it’s some Black Lotus goons.”

“Big shock,” Mei said rolling her eyes.

“How many?” I asked.

“Looks like about seven,” Brie started, “plus anyone that followed you two. If the three of us didn’t walk together, we probably would’ve gotten ambushed by the two outside the main doors.”

“Do we ever catch a break?” Mike complained. “I’m exhausted....”

“We _all_ are,” Nick said.

“I say the worst part is the homework,” Brie said. Mike nodded in agreement.

“Definitely.”

“But you never even do it!” Mei said. “You just copy off Nick!” He shrugged and Nick laughed.

“I’ve gotten used to the fighting at least,” Brie said.

“True,” I said, “but that doesn’t change its risks. All of us have at least one scar each by now.”

“That’s what fighting will do to ya,” Mike said with a shrug.

The warning bell rang and we all knew we only had five minutes left before the real bell rang.

We all had History first, and I had caught up to everyone in their advanced classes. For electives, I took the engineering courses with Mike. Other than that, we all took AP classes together.

“Come on guys, let’s get this over with....”

_Later…._

“I’ve got three,” Nick said.

“Two,” Brie added.

“Two,” Mei said.

“Five,” Mike said.

“One,” I added with a sigh. That’s what our routine had become. It meant that we each saw that number of guys outside at different times of the day. Plus any that we didn’t catch. There could be 13 of them to five of us... and possibly even more of them. “I was right. Their numbers are growing.”

“I doubt that,” Mei said. “I mean, maybe they’re just sending more after us since we take down their seven or eight so easily.”

“Yeah but last time we fought off just ten, Brie got stabbed in the leg and Mike got a nasty slash through his arm.”

“I’m already working on healing Brie, Mike and Zuko,” Nick added. “I can’t handle that many more....” And she meant it. Nick gets really drained after she heals since the scars are so big, and she insists on doing an hour a day with each of us.

“So then what are we gonna do?” Brie asked.

“I’ve got an idea....” Mei said with a smirk.

Mike and I had finished taking some notes in the auto room just before the release bell. Mei’s plan had worked considerably well.

She decided that between each period, she would find a dark classroom and fire an arrow at one of the guys outside. Her foldable bow fit into her boot nicely. We had a craftsman in the Avatar world create one custom for it. When she took it out and opened it, it would click into place again. Her shot had become great, and in a fight, she’d climb a tree to get a good shooting range. You can imagine how many times this tactic caused her to fall and get hurt pretty badly.

As for me, I still had yet to figure out why my firebending didn’t work here when Nick’s healing works in both worlds. The only time I did was when I first met her, fresh out of the Avatar world. I had an idea as to why… but I’d rather not scare her.

The bell rang, and Mike and I sprinted to the lunch room where they said they’d meet us after the bell. They were already there.

“Ready guys?” I asked, my heart racing as the adrenaline started flowing. Everyone nodded. Every move from here was planned and calculated. I walked outside first with Nick to my right. Behind us was Mei and behind her was Mike and Brie. We were to give her cover until she could get to a safe place. Once everyone had left the grounds, we knew that’s when it would start... so we followed.

We all walked straight toward Nick and I’s house. But we knew to jump into the woods when we had a chance. And when it came, we all started sprinting. “Go!”

Once we got far enough in, Mei took to a tree and climbed almost to the top. She took out her bow from her boot, and pulled out an arrow from the other. The wind whipped her face in the early spring weather, making her squint her eyes as she looked around, bow raised.

We broke off into our usual groups, Mike and Nick taking the east of the tree, Brie and I taking the west. But we stayed within ten yards of the tree as Mei kept watch. We all got ready.

Brie pulled out from her jeans pocket her war fan she _found_ after Lily left the group. Yes, she stole them. But it was better suited for this world and we couldn’t have her swinging a machete over her head.

I pulled out my duel swords I kept in my backpack. Chad had given them back to me when he had gone back to Republic City.

Mike took out his took sais from his sweatshirt pockets and got into fighting stance. I have to say, I was impressed with how his fighting was developing.

And Nick had her shurikens out and ready, with the throwing knives Mai had once used. I had gotten them from Mom when we visited the first time after seeing her again. I gave them to Nick to protect her if she ever needed them.

We stood, waiting, watching, and listening for any movement or sound.

Then the piercing sound of an arrow flew through the air, pinning Nick’s shoulder to the tree.

“ _Nick!”_ I shrieked, running to her. But Brie quickly grabbed my shirt from behind.

“Don’t worry about her, she’ll be fine. Worry about them!” she yelled, running at a man dressed in black. She jumped onto a rock and into the air, kicking his head on the way down with a slash at his face. As another guy came up behind her, an arrow pierced his chest and he fell to the ground. I knew it was Mei.

But I had no time to think because another one struck my head from behind. I hit the ground hard, and as I struggled to get up, he was ready to hit me again just before I slashed at his shin. I felt the sword hit something hard, knowing I had probably sliced through part of the bone. I quickly jumped up as Mei pierced his back.

Mike had pulled the arrow out of Nick’s shoulder and the two were fighting, but Mike fought harder to try to keep Nick safe. He was taking on two guys at once while Nick struggled slightly against one. Mike stabbed at one’s stomach and as he doubled over in pain, he ducked under a knife and stabbed the other’s groin.

As the second man fell, Mei got his back with an arrow and out of nowhere, a throwing knife jutted out the back of the first man’s head as he collapsed. I looked to see Nick, where she had taken down two others besides those two, and Mike rushed to help her with a fifth and sixth.

Brie and I ran to help with the last two. There were four taken out during school hours by Mei, plus the three Brie and I had taken out, the four Nick and Mike got, these two last ones, and three others Mei got with her arrows. That made sixteen to five. We were on a roll... as usual.

Finally, Nick collapsed to the forest floor as her adrenaline stopped and her legs gave out. But it meant nothing because Brie rushed at one with her fans with me and Mei jumped down from the tree to help Mike with the other. It happened so fast that if you blinked, you missed it. And again, every move was planned.

Mike picked up an unconscious Nick and carried her in his arms. We ran out of the woods back home, where Mike and Mei cleaned her up while Brie and I went back to school to get the truck before our parents got home.

Another typical day.

_The next day…._

I sighed, holding my face in my hands. I could hear Nick, Mei, Mike and Brie calling my name. But I didn’t want to answer.

I was in the woods behind Nick’s house, just taking it all in. So much had changed... and so much is my fault... again.

“Zuko!” I heard Mei call, but she was closer this time. I heard the faint noise of leaves crunching under feet. I knew she was there behind me, but I didn’t turn around. “Zuko....” she breathes. I heard her walk over and sit down to my left, but I didn’t look at her. She sighed and tried to put a hand on my shoulder, but I shrugged it off.

“Look,” she tried to start, “I know you’re thinking about how your world has changed so much, and how Azula is gone....” I didn’t budge and just listened. “But no matter what happens.... I’m here for you,” she said, shaking slightly. I heard her phone buzz in her pocket and I assumed she took it out to tell Nick I was okay.

I couldn’t take it anymore. All these friends... they truly cared about me. We were together for a common cause and later became friends. They truly just want to help me.

Especially Mei....

But I didn’t deserve it.

“Zuko, please....” she moved toward me slightly. “I know it’s so hard for you.... I just want to help....” She touched my cheek.

I exploded.

I jumped up and threw her off me. I screamed and growl out of sheer frustration.

“I don’t get it!” I yelled at her, and she crawled backward, away from me. “Why do you love me? Why do you care?” I scream again and clench my fists, punching a nearby tree. “I’m a freak! I’m a reject of my whole world! Everyone is GONE! Do you hear me? GONE!” I screamed again in pain, shouting at the sky. “Do you know what that’s like? I attempted suicide! I was with someone else before you! Azula got away and Matt is dead, Mei! Mai is dead!” I breathed heavily, as tears started streaming down my face. I looked at the ground, letting the tears fall. I waited for her to say something, but no words came. I looked up and saw her looking up at me a few feet away, not afraid, but utterly stunned.

I sat down again, facing the other way. Then I smelled something.

Smoke.

The trees around us and the floor below me are either ashes or singed. Smoke was rising up in the air around us. I didn’t even know it.

I could firebend again.

I sat on the floor, facing away from Mei. I heard her get up and start toward me. “Don’t. Just leave me.” But unlike how I thought she’d respond, she sat next to me anyway. We sat there in silence for a minute, probably a thousand questions running through her head. But she only asked one. And for our relationship, it was probably the hardest one she could have asked.

“I do love you,” she says. “And I’m a little messed up too. But you’re perfect for me. It doesn’t matter. None of it matters! Don’t you get it? I love you!” She leaned in and kissed me first on my left eye, right on the scar.

_Later that night…._

We were all sitting in Nick’s room. I was on the couch next to Mei with my arm around her small waist. Brie was to her right and Nick and Mike are sitting on the bed.

“So everything was singed and there was smoke and everything,” Mei tried to explain. “But it was definitely legit.”

“So all this time, you could bend?” Mike asked, his arms folded.

Nick shot him a look. “Of course not. He just couldn’t use it for a while when he was here. He didn’t use it as often as he used to, basically practicing every day in the Fire Nation. He probably got rusty.”

“The thing is, I didn’t.” Everyone looked at me, and Mike folded his arms. Nick’s eyes were wide. “But I didn’t lie to you. I couldn’t bend at all after the first day of being here. I tried, but I couldn’t. I guess something changed.”

“It could be because of the new show starting,” Brie suggested. “Maybe that threw things out of balance for people from his world.”

“Well there’s also this thing,” Mike said, holding up his necklace. It was the one with the small bronze sword, about three inches long with two silver dragons wrapped around it, with a green stone on the hilt of the sword. It was the one that blocked fire in my world.

“Where did you get it?” I asked again. The first time I asked, he didn’t know.

“I remembered that Nick gave it to me as a present for my birthday a few years back,” he said, looking over at her.

“Well, it was in my jewelry box since I was little, with the costume jewelry,” she said. “I didn’t think it was important. It looked cool, and I wore it a bunch of times. But when I met Mike, I knew he’d like it so I gave it to him.”

“And you don’t know who it came from?” I asked. She shook her head.

“And what about how Nick can heal?” Brie said. “To me, that sounds like something out of your world, too.” She brought up a good point. Nick just looked down and shrugged. Mike put a hand on her shoulder.

“I don’t know,” she said quietly. “I have suspicions, but....” she trailed off.

“What?”

“Well, I mean, obviously my dad hid some stuff from my family,” she started. “Maybe there’s more to it than we thought.”

“So now what?” Mei asked. “We don’t even know where to start! The Black Lotus and White Lotus Organizations are based in China. And Azula is god-knows-where.... So how are we supposed to know where to look?”

“We’ll think of something....” I said.

“I’ll go.” I looked up, and everyone was staring at Mike.

“What?” Nick asked. “Go where?”

“To a Black Lotus branch. These guys that keep attacking us have to be coming from somewhere. And there’s no way they’re all coming from China. They have to have some sort of base nearby.”

“No.” Nick said firmly. “I won’t let you go alone.”

“The less of us that go, the better,” he argued. “All we have to do is set up a way to follow them.”

Nick tried to protest, but I cut her off. “He’s right. And since he’s the one with the necklace, I think it’s his choice to go.” Nick was quiet and just looked to Mike. He stood up, and in the past two years, he’d been working out, and went from a little kid to a stocky, muscular guy. He was the same height as Mei now, making him the second tallest in the group. Even though everyone had grown physically, we had mentally and emotionally as well. And I knew Mike was ready to take on the job. He was the most emotionally removed out of all of us. “I think he can do this. And in a group, it’s too much.”

Nick heard it and listened. She knew I was right and didn’t object to it.

“Then it’s settled,” Mike said, pumping his fist. “I can do this. Just tell me what to do.” He eyed all of us but Nick, knowing how distraught she was. “Let’s come up with a plan.”

“Alright...” Nick said. She eyed Mike. “Just be careful.”

“I will be.”

_*Nick*_

It was the last day of school before finals.... And we were in a huge fight, yet again.

I threw a knife at the guy in front of me. It connected with his forehead, and he fell backwards as I jumped onto his chest, pulling out the knife and throwing it again, hitting another in the face.

Mike knew what he had to do, and there were only a few guys left. He spun and double-jabbed the guy behind him but didn’t see the other coming from behind.

“Mike!” I screamed. He turned around too late. The guy had stabbed him in the chest, slightly to the right of his heart. My breath caught. Mike fell to the ground, but miraculously, kicked the oncoming attacker in the stomach, pushing him off. Mike was bleeding but he stood, holding his chest and wincing. There were only two men left.

As Brie and Zuko took on the last two guys, I ran to Mike. I laid him on his back and held his hand in my right hand and healed with my left. I poured water on his chest as he winced, and I started to heal. What sucked was that I couldn’t bend the water. I had to pour it on as my hand acted as a magnet, pulling the water to the wound.

“I’ll be fine. Just cover it with something and let me up,” Mike complained between wincing.

“I’m still going to let you go on the mission.” I pulled the water off and directly it back into the skin. “But I’m not gonna let you go in there practically bleeding out.” Mike rolled his eyes and I turned my back on him.

I didn’t hear movement for a second, so I went to walk away, but Mike grabbed my hand. I glanced back, and he stared straight into my eyes. “I’m going to come back.”

“I know you will.”

He stood there for a second longer, as we heard a blast of fire rush behind us. Zuko was bending. That was his cue. And unexpectedly, Mike hugged me.

Then he took off.

I watched from that spot as Zuko knocked out one of the guys. He stared daggers at the last one, and the man made a break for it. Mike ran as he grabbed the clothes off the bodies on the ground. He put on his pair of black sunglasses and a black leather jacket. Then he disappeared behind the cover of the trees.

That was our cue. I pressed the button in my ear.

“Mission is a go.”

_*Zuko*_

Nick held the comms unit in her ear like her life depended on it... or, well... Mike’s.

We were sitting in Nick’s room on the couch, huddled around her laptop. Mike and I had rigged his sunglasses with a small camera so we could see everything from her laptop. Mike had just gotten to the entrance of their base when we told him to wait.

He was in the middle of the woods with a door flat on the grass floor. It was stainless steel with a retina scanner next to it. We told him to wait for the next person to go in or come out.

“Ready Mike?” I asked through my comms unit.

“To take them down? Then yes.”

Just then, the door slid open, and someone came out. He looked around and then disappeared into the woods. Mike knew it was his cue. He jumped down the hole, the door sealing shut behind him.

_*Mike*_

Complete darkness. That’s what I could see.

I landed about ten feet down on what I could feel to be marble floor. I walked forward, hands out in front of me, but I remained low to the ground. I suddenly felt my hands hit something in front of me before revealing a hallway....

A huge hallway.

It was brightly lit, and the floor was marble – as I’d guessed – and doors lined the walls on both sides. But there was no one in sight. There were cameras everywhere on the ceiling, so I remained casual. I felt tense, but I knew if I acted natural, I’d be fine.

“Holy shit....” I heard from Nick. “Start with one of the doors.”

I walked over to the first door on the left, which was glass this time. It wasn’t automatic, so I peered inside.

My eyes widened in horror.

There were about fifty people in the room, practicing the same stances, the same movements with two people at the head of the room, leading them. All of a sudden, one leader shouted to them. “Let me see the fire!”

All at once, fire shot high into the air of the room, smoke leaving through vents on the ceiling.

They were training firebenders.

“That’s impossible!” Zuko practically yelled into my ear. “I could barely bend! How are they bending so powerfully here?”

Then Nick, “They’ve probably been training these people for years and we never knew it. Zuko... I think you’re further behind then we thought.”

“How are going to take on an army of Firebenders?” Zuko protested. He was getting pissed, but more worried than anything.

“Uh, guys,” I said quietly. “We have bigger problems.”

As they had gone back and forth, I moved to the other side of the hallway. The same routine went on, only this time, there were Earthbenders. I heard gasps in my ears. I pointed to the door across the hall but a little further down, and they both gave me the okay.

As we suspected, Waterbenders.

And behind me: Healers.

That meant they only had more types and styles of bending throughout this hallway. And the hallway was long.

“Mike! You need to get out of there!” Nick yelled in my ear. I was about to turn and walk out when someone called to me.

“Hey you!” I stopped and turned around immediately, using a bowing gesture I saw the Black Lotus use once.

“Yes sir?” I remained calm on the outside, but inside, I was debating whether to run. Now would be my only chance.

“Get out of there!” Nick hissed through the comms unit. “You need to move now!”

“She’s right. Mike, be reasonable.” But I needed to find out what was going on first.

“What is your bending form?” he asked.

_Shit._

“Well, sir, you see....” I needed to think of something fast.

“The necklace! Ask him about-” Nick started to say.

I was quick. “I have urgent news. I found this in the woods.” I pulled out the necklace from my shirt. It was a bronze sword with twin dragons wrapped around it. There was a green stone in between the two dragons. The man’s eyes widened.

_*Flashback*_

We were all sitting on the couch in my living room. It was me, Nick, Lily, Cody, and Mei before the whole thing started. We were taking turns in a video game tournament.

“Mike?” Nick asked next to me. She was next to play.

“Yeah, Nick?” I asked between kicking Cody’s character into the air.

“I have a birthday present for ya,” she said. “But I don’t want to give it to you in front of everyone.” Everyone else that year had given me cards and cash. I thought she was just going to give me hers tomorrow.

“Uh, yeah, sure.” I let the others play a round before Nick was to jump in. We went down the hallway to my room and sat on the floor. She pulled a small box out of her bag. It was black with gold along the edges.

“I’ve had this for a long time. I’ve worn it once or twice, but it’s too heavy for me. And I really love it, but I want you to have it.”

I raised an eyebrow at her. “Why?”

She looked at me with a smile. “I knew you’d like it, and I don’t really have a use for it.” She pushed the box toward me.

“I... I don’t know what to say....” And I didn’t. I was stunned.

I opened the box.

And there it was. _The_ necklace.

“Nick, this is special. You really want me to have it?”

“Yeah....” She nodded. “You’re my best friend.”

I clasped the necklace on and set the box on the dresser. I pulled Nick into me to hug her, and she put her arms around me. She whispered, “I think it was my dad’s. And I trust you more than anyone. Wear it well.”

I pulled back from her, and there were tears in her eyes.

“Thank you,” I said quietly.

I had never told anyone about that.

_*End Flashback*_

“Oh....” The man paused, staring at the necklace. “Come with me. The Princess will see you immediately.” I followed behind him, hoping I’d survive this.

“You need to run!” Nick yelled into my ear.

I winced. “I’ve got this. Trust me.” I was led all the way down the hallway, where I saw more types of benders. Lightning, sand, ice.... Everything was here. But all of it meant our doom.

“Princess Azula is right this way.” He pointed to the steel door.

“Thank you, Sir.” He walked away.

The door opened automatically.

Inside, there was a long table with about ten people on each side, wearing the typical Black Lotus attire. Each of them had the weird black tattoo. At the end of the table, the girl who I had seen only once before, Azula, stood facing a map, teaching them of some kind of plan.

“And at the stroke of midnight, that’s when you’ll strike. We’ll need one of every kind of bender at the Mente’s, and a Firebender, at least, at the others. Any questions?” She didn’t turn around. “Good. Newcomer, welcome.” I tensed. She turned around. Her golden eyes were squinted, attempting to frighten me. I didn’t show the slightest sign of fear. “Do you have any questions?”

“No, Princess Azula, I do not.” She never broke her gaze.

“What is that you have there?” She eyed the necklace. “Bring it to me.”

I stood up, and she stared daggers. Everyone in the room was staring at me. The air was tense... silent.

“Address her like you would royalty,” Zuko said. “Don’t blow your cover.”

“Uh, yes Princess.” I walked over to her and let the necklace hang from the chain, as I held it out to her. She stared at it for a moment, examining it. I thought, for a split second that her eyes widened, but I blinked and missed it. She collected herself too quickly.

“Where did you find this?”

“It was in the woods. I found it when I was last out scouting.” I could tell as soon as I said it that it was too much information. Nick’s breath caught in my ear.

“Interesting....” she mused. “And when did you find this?”

“Last night... Princess.”

“Why was this not brought to my attention sooner?”

“I.... Excuse me, Princess Azula.” I bowed.

“What are you doing?” Nick practically yelled.

“I must use the restroom. May I go?”

She glared at me.

“Yes... you may.” she said slowly.

“Thank you.” I bowed again, taking the necklace with me, and walked out the door. As soon as the steel doors were shut, I ran.

A siren sounded, and red lights started flashing.

I had failed the test.

Every door opened as I sprinted past, releasing a wave of benders behind me. They were dazed, not knowing what the siren meant. Only a few actually followed all the way down the hallway.

“We’ll be there soon! Hang on!” Nick called.

“Don’t look back, just keep running,” Zuko said calmly. “We need to get there now. Everyone into the truck!” he called.

I climbed the ladder as fast as I possibly could, but from underneath me, fire shot up, and burned through my jeans. I winced but kept moving.

But then, an icicle shot up, and hit me in the chest, reopening the wound from earlier. I felt the blood dripping down my chest, and my shirt was sliced wide open. I felt fire all around me. My eyes started tearing from the smoke as I pushed out of the top.

I rolled and then ran through the deepest part of the woods. I came to a hill and started sliding down, followed by falling the rest of the way. At the bottom, I hit what felt like a rock or a tree stump, I couldn’t tell. But I’d stopped moving, and I guessed they’d stopped following. I laid on my back, hoping the gang would come soon. I rested my hand on my chest and winced, feeling the blood all over my hands.

“Mike, just hang on,” Nick said calmly but sternly. “You’ll be fine.”

I was panting, and with every heave of breath, there was a searing pain in my chest. But I knew I couldn’t pass out. I had to know they were there.

“We’re almost there, hang on, Mike.”

Everything started to blur, and things around me changed colors. I couldn’t hear Nick in the comms unit, so I pulled them both out and waited.

I had to wait for them.

I closed my eyes, focusing on staying conscious. But I heard something. It was quiet at first. Then....

“Mike! MIKE!” It was Nick. Then I heard the rest of them, slowly, calling my name.

“I’m here....” It was too quiet.... Too weak.

“I’m... HERE!” I gasped.

Then it went black.

_*Zuko*_

Nick and I picked up Mike and carried him back to the truck. We drove him straight to Nick’s house. The whole ride, Nick sat on the backseat with Brie. Brie held his head in her lap while Nick worked on Mike’s chest. Mei sat up front with me, her hand on my shoulder.

And Nick stayed calm. She was strong. She could have lost him today, the person she trusts most in her life. And she sat there and healed. She knew it was what she had to do.

We got back to the house, and Nick sat on the couch in her room with Mike’s head in her lap. Brie sat next to her, and Mei sat with me on the bed.

“And now we know what’s going down,” Mei said. She heaved a sigh. “They’re training every god damn kind of bender! What the fuck are we going to do?”

I pulled Mei close. “We’ll figure it out,” I said.

“And now we know that the necklace has something to do with the Black Lotus after all,” Brie added. “Nick, where did you get the necklace from?”

Nick was quiet the entire time. I didn’t blame her, after finding Mike that way. “It was my dad’s.”

Mei gasped. “Was he in the Black Lotus?”

“No.” I said it sternly. “He was probably undercover because we already know he was with the White Lotus.”

“But it could’ve been the other way around,” Mei said.

“No, it wasn’t,” I said again. “Why else would Azula hate us?”

“Because of you,” Brie pointed out the obvious. She was right.

“But we know Nick’s dad was good,” Mei said. “Why would the Black Lotus kill him if he was working for them?”

“And there’s your answer,” Nick agreed. “That’s why. They wouldn’t plot that, and Azula would who I am and not hate me if my dad worked for them.”

“What if he’s a traitor?” I suggested. Everyone looked to me. It was silent for a minute.

“I... don’t know,” Nick said. She looked down. “I never considered that before now.”


	15. Secrets

Chapter Fifteen: Secrets

_*Nick*_

Today was our day to relax... and practice a bit.

Yesterday, we graduated. It was strange, knowing we would all go separate ways in just a few months. But if we didn’t take out the Black Lotus before then, we didn’t know if we could leave each other alone.

We had a pool party, just us... mainly because we scared the majority of the school. But we figured it was better that way. The less people involved, the better.

My parents weren’t home, and all worked on something... in our bathing suits to use the pool as a cover for when they got back. We could just jump in immediately. I was sitting on the steps of the pool with Mike one step further in the water, facing me as I healed his chest. I rubbed my hand gently over the gash next to his heart.

Mei and Brie were trying to help Zuko improve his bending on the grass. He only can in dire situations or when he is in mid-fight. Doing it at will... has been an issue.

Mei and Brie were coaching Zuko through meditation techniques for the last hour in silence, and now they were trying a little bending at a time. Zuko would punch or kick when they told him, and only a small puff of smoke would come out.

“Why don’t you try some breathing techniques with your fighting?” Mike suggests. “Didn’t someone suggest that to you before?”

Zuko and I made eye contact. _Uncle._

_*Zuko*_

The thought Nick and I shared was almost overwhelming with emotion.

I knew that I’d never see him again, not now with my world being 70 years ahead of the time I was there. But Mike was right. Breath control was key as well as controlling my emotions.

I stopped and put my hands together in a meditation pose with my eyes closed. I thought about the world around me. I thought about the heat of the sun on my skin, and I thought about the cool breeze brushing my cheeks....

_Aang._

He was the only reason I became good. When I found out he was my great grandfather, it changed everything for me. I had known my life had been wrong for years when I realized what my true destiny was. I was fighting for him. And now that he has passed, I was working for the new Avatar, Korra. But she isn’t here, in this world.

I was fighting for myself for once. Not for my destiny. Not for my honor. Not for my family. Not even the Avatar, really. I was fighting for what I believed in. I was fighting for the love of my life, Mei. I was fighting for my true sister, Nick. I was fighting for my friends. But most of all....

I was fighting for a better me.

I breathed in deeply and harnessed a new energy within me. It felt different from bending in the Avatar world. I felt like me. It felt like life.

It felt like fire.

I thrust my hands into tight fists and yelled, fire erupting from my hands, shooting into the sky. They were small, thin columns of flame, but the sight was stunning with tones of red, orange and yellow, even slightly blue in spots.

The group stared in awe. I released my fists and fell to my knees, panting. Mei rushed over to me and hugged me, tightly. Everyone clapped and cheered.

“You did it! I’m so proud of you….” She leaned back and looked into my tearing eyes and kissed me.

I stood and smiled to myself. I looked down at my hands, still panting and clenched my fists with pride. I knew I was ready for this world at last.

“Keep going, Zuko,” Nick said. “Just keep focusing and do little amounts at a time.” She smiled at me.

“Thank you,” I said. “Thank you to all of you. You guys helped me find myself again....” I smiled at everyone before going back to small bursts of flame.

Mei and Brie sat down on either side of Nick as she healed Mike. They were exhausted from helping me all day.

“So how are we dealing with the other benders?” Mike asked. He directed the question at Nick. “Besides Zuko, you’re the most experienced with the Avatar world from watching the show and what-not, am I right?”

“I guess so....” They were staring at her. “Well here’s what we know thus far. My dad worked either undercover as a traitor of the Black Lotus or was a White Lotus agent undercover. The necklace belonged to my dad which pretty much proves it, and... what if my dad could bend?”

Everyone stopped breathing.

“It makes sense....” Mei said. “I mean, how else could Nick heal?”

“That’s what I was thinking....” Nick said.

“I suspected that as soon as we found out you could heal,” I added. Everyone turned to me.

“Why didn’t you say it before?” Brie asked.

“Because we didn’t know what else Nick could be capable of. And we still don’t know.”

“You mean to say that you think Nick is a bender?” Mike asked, skeptically. Everyone just stared at Nick.

“It’s a likely possibility,” I continued, “because every healer I knew could waterbend. And when I first met Nick, I thought she was Katara. Did she look like her? No. But I had a feeling it was her. Maybe it was her chi I was feeling.”

“It’s possible, I guess,” Brie said. “But you said she might be able to do other things?”

I was quiet for a minute. I looked at Nick whose head was down in thought.

“Zuko....” Mei started. “What else are you hiding from us?”

“It’s up to Nick to tell it.”

Everyone turned to Nick.

“You’re a bender aren’t you?” Mei asked.

“No. I’m not,” Nick said quietly.

“Then what?” Brie questioned.

“I don’t know.”

“Yes you do,” Mei said. “I knew you were hiding something.” She said it flatly. Not angry or upset; it was just a fact.

“Stop!” Mike stood up. “If she doesn’t want to say it, then don’t make her -”

“No, you’re right.” Nick finally admits it. “I’ve known since I was little that there was something different about me.”

Mike just watched her, waiting.

“After my dad died, I felt this... _feeling_ rise within me. And I knew it wasn’t normal. Don’t ask how. I just did. And I tried... for _so_ long to figure out what it was or what I am.” Nick paused and waited. “I think that whatever powers my dad had were passed onto me after he died. It’s just a theory, but that’s what I think happened.”

“I think I just felt that power, Nick,” I told her. She looked at me, wide-eyed. “That power you felt. I think I felt it just now when I was bending. Did it feel like it was running through your body-?”

“Like a warm shiver?” she finished for me. She knew exactly what I meant.

“Maybe you could be a bender, Nick,” Mike said. “You have the same feeling of power as Zuko and your dad had something to do with all of this in some way.” Nick just stared at the floor, not knowing what to say or how to react to it all.

“What if...?” Mei started. She trailed off, not knowing whether to voice it or not.

“What?” I shot her a look, pressing her.

“What if Nick’s dad isn’t from Earth? What if he’s from Zuko’s world?”

Silence.

Then the garage made a dull humming noise, signaling they were home.

We all dove headfirst into the water.

_*Nick*_

“No way!” I picked up the bright yellow shirt and turn it over. “Pikachu!”

“If that doesn’t suit you, I don’t know what does,” Brie said. She was holding a few nice tops for herself.

We all decided to go shopping together to get new clothes for the summer. I looked around a little more and realized I had completely new things from what I used to wear. I held a plaid skirt, a fluffy light blue sun dress and two pairs of sandals. But of course I couldn’t say no to the Pikachu shirt.

“Hey,” Brie caught my arm. “Where did Mike go?” I looked around for a second and saw him at the back of the store.

“I like this one too.... And this one....”

“What are you doing?” I asked, staring at the mound of graphic t-shirts.

“I want all of them! But I don’t know which ones to pick!”

“It’s funny how you shop sometimes.” I shook my head. “Go ahead.”

My eyes widened as I glance at the mirror behind Mike.

There were two tall, bald men with black tattoos dressed in all black with sunglasses.

“Call Zuko!” Mike said, shaking me from my thoughts. “We’ve got to warn him and Mei!”

We paid for the stuff as I called Zuko. He picked up quickly.

“Nick?”

“They’re here. Stay where you are.”

“North end.”

“Got it.”

We ran as fast as we could, avoiding any of the Black Lotus. Time was running out. The further we ran, the closer we were to getting noticed.

We sprinted out of the mall and towards Zuko’s truck. Zuko used the remote to unlock it, and we started diving into the car.

But faster than I could think, I was lifted by my ankle, completely inverted.

I was staring into the face of the Black Lotus.

I threw a knife, shattering his sunglasses, shards going into his eyes. He let go of me, and I fell about three feet before feeling Mike’s arms beneath me. But then Mike stumbled and flew forward, sending both of us tumbling down the parking lot. I shook my head and got up on my hands and knees. There was a huge gap in the pavement, not small enough to cross. As I tried to survey my surroundings with blurred vision, I felt a slash through my cheek. I grabbed it with my hand instinctively.

But it wasn’t burned.

I look up to see a woman, dressed the same way  as the other Black Lotus are, hovering a water whip at waist level. She raised her hands.

I closed my eyes and braced myself.

_*Zuko*_

I couldn’t believe what was happening.

The one place I finally felt at home was here in a world where, yes, I was a lot different from everyone else, but I was loved and enjoyed every day through all of the trials and tribulations I faced. This world truly tested my strength.

But it had just become a whole new game.

I dove to the other side of the crack in the pavement and side-tackled the waterbender as the whip came down on Nick. She was hit but she had rolled and softened the blow to her arm. She jumped up and looked around, eyes wide.

As I went hand to hand with the bender girl, a flame past her cheek, a lash of water to the right, a long, wavy brown ponytail whipping, I realized that Nick knew we were being watched. People started to gather around us.

“What's the matter, Zuzu?” The youthful faced, dark toned and shrill voiced girl hissed. “Afraid someone is going to notice you? You're a freak!” She threw an ice spike at my chest but I caught it mid-air and melted it instantly. She was right. People were going to notice.

“Zuko!” As I turned, a piece of cloth hit me in the face. I looked down at the ski mask and threw it on, giving Mike a thumbs up. I was surprised he came prepared for my sake.

I back-flipped out of the way as a tentacle of water came down at my chest, narrowly missing my legs. I looked around as I jumped up.

Mei was on top of the truck, firing arrows where she could. There were only three of them to the five of us, but benders against non-benders were a tricky call when the non-benders were so inexperienced at fighting that style. She kept firing at the Water Tribe girl.

“Mei! Help out Nick! She needs it more than I do!” Mei looked over toward Nick and realized she was letting her feelings get the better of her. She fired at the guy trying to take down Nick and got him in the lower back. It made him stop long enough for Nick to get up and throw a knife into his neck. He collapsed, blood spraying.

I used a dragon kick to knock the girl off her feet, making her fall flat on her back. A knife cut through the air and embedded itself deep in her side. She cried out, and Nick came down on her fast, shoving the knife deeper. She wailed and hissed in blinding agony. Nick yanked the knife out and slashed her across the face, just enough to ensure she stayed down; it wasn't fatal.

Mei ran toward me as Nick rushed to help Mike and Brie. They were fighting off the last body-builder sized Earthbender.

“You good?” Mei asked breathlessly. She was bruised on her cheek but otherwise appeared virtually unscathed.

“Yeah, I'm fine.” I looked over to the others as Mei and I started running across the parking lot. I yelled, “She looked like Katara!”

The Earthbender had shattered more than half the lot at this point, and Mike, Brie and Nick had to balance to keep from falling between the breaks in the pavement.

Mike dove across a crevice, barely keeping his balance as the ground below him shook violently. Nick grabbed his hand to help him upright. But as Brie yelled at them to move, the Earthbender pounded his fists into the ground, forcing Mike off the ledge. Nick grabbed his wrist and fell on the ground, face-first. Her face was bruised badly and it started to change color as she held on.

I rushed at the Earthbender with Brie to try to distract him long enough. Mei went the other way.

_*Nick*_

“Let go,” Mike pleaded. “You're going to fall too!”

“I'm not letting you fall!” Images of the day Mike went into the base alone flashed through my mind. “I won't risk losing you again!”

“You need to save yourself! It's better that I go than us together!”

Our voices were strained. My shoulders felt like they were tearing off my body. “I'm not gonna lose you again!” My hands were holding onto his upper arms, nails gripping into his skin. His hands were a vice on my arm, and I knew… for the first time, he was truly afraid.

“I'll be fine!” His hands started slipping lower on my arm. Without nails to grip, he was having a harder time.

“Don't be afraid, I'm not gonna let you go!”

“That's what I'm afraid of!” Then I realized. The ground shook again, and our arms slipped further apart. I cried out, desperately holding on. “I don't want anything to happen to you!”

“I’m not gonna let you go, you idiot!”

“You have to because I love you!”

The whole world seemed to stop for an instant and the ground shook again. I slipped toward the edge. Tears filled my eyes and dropped onto Mike's pale cheek.

“I love you too….”

“Let me go!”

Just then, I was hit from behind with a chunk of earth and fell into the crevice. Mike and I screamed and just as my feet left the ledge, I felt someone grab my ankles. I wailed as I heard and felt the pop of my arms coming out of their sockets, feeling the tear of muscle tissue ripping in my body.

“MEI!” I heard Mike yell. “HURRY!”

I felt my body come up out of the dark, and finally I was able to let go. Mike rushed to my side and picked me up in his arms. He gently leaned down and kissed my forehead as I sobbed.

“Shhh…. It's gonna be okay.” He whispered into my hair. “Just hold on…. Hold on…. You're gonna be fine….”

I blacked out.

_*Zuko*_

We were sitting in Nick's room, with her out-cold on the bed. Mike was laying next to her, stroking her hair and watching her sleep. I had the excruciating task of popping her shoulders back in earlier while she was out. She woke up eventually, drained, and she fell asleep in Mike's arms. Brie was in the bathroom with Mei washing themselves clean of the dirt and blood. Nick's parents were out, as usual, with her sister.

“I can see it,” I whispered to Mike. His head jerked up to look at me as if he forgot I was in the room. He looked back down at Nick, stroking her hair.

“It's always been obvious,” Mike said quietly. He sighed. “I just couldn't lose her.”

“Apparently the feeling was mutual. You both did a good job of hiding it.” Nick's breathing was slow and shuttered once every few breaths. “You make the perfect pair.”

Mike smiled into her hair as he kissed her head again and lightly stroked her pale arms. “I know we do.”

Mei and Brie walked in to keep an eye on Nick while Mike and I cleaned up in the bathroom. Mike was reluctant to move.

“Mike, seriously?” Mei asked, dripping with sarcasm. “She's fine. I'll watch her.” Mei rolled her eyes and took Nick's hand. “Just clean yourself off and get some air. You've been through a lot today.” Mike nodded and walked out behind me.

“You realize what this means now, right?” Mike asked.

I paused. “That you and Nick are a possible weak point?”

Mike nodded. “But there's something else…. If the benders are sent after us, how long are we going to be able to keep this up before an army is unleashed? I saw how many of them there were. We'd be screwed.”

“No, we're not. We all have an edge on them and it's that we're like nothing they've ever dealt with. They're in a foreign world, and we've got the home field advantage.”

“Does Nick?” Mike asked.

I raised an eyebrow. “What?”

“Does she have the home field advantage?”

I looked past Mike at Nick asleep on the bed.

“I don't know.”


	16. Darkness

Chapter Sixteen: Darkness

_*Nick*_

During the night I had woken up and seen Zuko awake, sitting and leaning against the wall. He had kept watch over the group during the sleepover.

“Can’t sleep?” he asked, eyeing me. I nodded, grimacing at the pain in my arms. “Don’t move too much…. I had to pop your shoulders back in.”

I clenched my teeth, wincing at the thought and realized that it definitely it explained how much pain I was in.

“Zuko…” I started in a whisper. He looked back at me, raising an eyebrow. “I’ve been thinking…. Maybe…” I sighed, not sure what I wanted to say.

He pulled himself up and walked over to the bed. He sat down next to me gently so as not to move me too much. “About?”

I sighed again and closed my eyes. “Why can I heal? Where did these powers come from?” I opened my eyes and looked from him back to my hands as I held them out in front of me. When I loosened them up, they glowed in a faint blue light before I closed them up again.

I stared at my hands as Zuko spoke. “They’re definitely inherited, Nick. That much is obvious.”

“I know that but… why? How did my dad get these powers?”

“Would you rather the truth or what doesn’t hurt?” I looked up at him for a moment. His eyes were narrowed. Finally, I nodded and looked back at my hands. “Mike and I think your dad… at _least_ … isn’t from your world.”

I scoffed at him and wrapped my arms around my body… or at least I tried to before wincing at the pain and letting them fall at my sides again. “I figured you’d say that.”

He sighed and ran a hand through his shaggy hair. “Do you remember anything from your childhood that might help us?” he asked. He rubbed my arm closest to him gently. “Anything about where your dad came from?”

I chuckled lightly. “I mean, it makes sense. My mom and dad met in college. She didn’t know where he came from or his family. Hell, _I_ don’t know his family.”

“So you’re saying it’s definitely a possibility?”

“I’m saying it’s the most likely answer….”

We paused for a minute in thought before Zuko spoke up again. “Then how did he end up here? For the most part, our worlds don’t know about each other outside of the Black and White Lotus Organizations.”

“Maybe it was a family thing,” I said. “Maybe he _is_ from my world but somewhere down the family line, his _family_ isn’t.”

I looked up at Zuko to gage his reaction and he scratched his chin. “That’s probably the more likely option since he was so accustomed to your world. He probably did grow up here and simply knew about my world.”

My eyes widened when I realized a detail we overlooked. “Who’s to say he didn’t travel between the two? What if that’s why he was so important and why Azula wanted him dead?”

Zuko gaped at me for a moment before recomposing himself. “That’s an interesting guess…. The only problem is that we don’t know how that would happen, since my world has aged about 75 years. Anyone that would have known him is probably gone by now.” Both of us stared down at the bed, trying to think of something we could try. Then Zuko tapped me gently on the back. “You should try to get to sleep.”

“You should too,” I said, sliding back down under the blankets. “You don’t need to stand guard.”

“I think now… I might have to.”

But before I could argue, I drifted back into sleep.

_*Zuko*_

“Never thought I’d be back here so soon….” Mei said, rolling her eyes.

The five of us walked through the automatic doors of the library. None of us knew where else to go for information on my world aside from the show itself. Brie suggested we try looking at other mythologies and references and we couldn’t find a reason to argue. We were running out of guesses… and time.

“Alright, Mei, Brie and I will search the back for stuff on mythology,” I told everyone. “Nick and Mike will go look through the kids’ section and see if you can find anything on the show. Let’s go.”

Everyone nodded to me and we split up. As we walked as casually as we could to the back of the library, from under my sunglasses, I was eyeing everything around me: the flight of stairs to the second floor, between each aisle, the sitting area, etc.

I jumped slightly when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked back at Mei and my shoulders slumped slightly. “Sorry… I just don’t want to be surprised again is all,” I explained to her with an impish smirk.

She shook her head at me and we kept walking.

“The more jumpy you are and the more you worry, the more of a chance there is of someone from the Black Lotus identifying us,” Brie pointed out.

“I know…” I said. “Sorry.” The wariness mostly came from our situation; we couldn’t bring weapons into a library for obvious reasons, so we were left unarmed when we walked in.

We got to the shelves with the books on Earth’s mythologies. Every kind of mythos was on those shelves. Brie started from the bottom, I started above her, and Mei started on the opposite side of the aisle. We knew we had to start with Chinese mythology because with all of the coincidences following my world and rebellions that led to the formation of the White Lotus, there had to be something.

“Guys, I think I got something,” Mei said. Both Brie and I shut the books we were reading and hurried over. “This is about Greek Mythology… but there might be a connection here. Do you guys know about the River Styx?”

I shook my head, but Brie piped up, “Yeah! I took a Greek Mythology class a few years ago. That’s the river in the underworld that your soul is ferried across to get to Elysium or Hades, depending on how you were during your life.”

“Doesn’t that sound like how Zuko got here in the first place…?” Mei said. “He got here by… ummm…” She coughed uncomfortably.

“Right…” I confirmed, scratching my chin. “So maybe water has something to do with it? The only thing that still wouldn’t make sense is going back and forth because you guys did it too.”

“We’ll have to keep looking,” Brie said. “But maybe we’re looking in the wrong place. Trying looking through stuff about the afterlife and not about Chinese Mythology specifically.” Mei and I nodded and continued on that side of the aisle.

A few more minutes passed before I recognized something. “Guys! This book says that when a soul has not had a fulfilling life, it becomes reincarnated. The soul is tossed off of a bridge… and flows down a river!”

“Let me see,” Brie said, holding out a hand. I passed her the book and she scanned it for a few seconds before her eyes widened. “You _did_ see that the bridge is the bridge of _pain_ , right?”

Mei and I exchanged worried glances.

“That would make sense though,” Mei added. “That was right after…”

“I lost Mai….”

Brie cleared her throat. “Right, so couldn’t that maybe be a metaphor for what you felt when that happened to you? Not all religion is meant to be taken literally either. Though in your case, it might be more on the literal side.”

“But it does make sense,” Mei said. “He was in so much pain and then dropped into a new world to start over… maybe….” she trailed off.

“I think this might be the connection we’re looking for,” I said quickly. “Let’s go see if Mike and Nick found anything.”

“I’ll check out the books we found,” Brie offered her hands out. “You guys go find them and let’s get the hell out of here.”

I took Mei by the hand and walked casually but swiftly through the many aisles of shelves. I felt her feet stumble more than once at my pace, but I kept going. When we spotted them, we jogged over to where they were sitting on the floor with a few books spread around them.

“Find anything?” Mike asked me.

Mei and I sat on the floor in front of them. “Definitely something worth looking into. Chinese Mythology basically confirms that it’s possible to enter different worlds via water,” I explained.

“That’s not all we found then,” Nick said. She turned the book around that she’d been holding and it showed a picture of the Fire Nation capital. My stomach dropped suddenly. “Have you ever heard of The Lost Scrolls?” she asked me. I furrowed my eyebrows at her. “Well, they’re a series of books the creators of the show put out a few years ago in order to further explain some Avatar world culture.”

“What does it say?” Mei asked quickly.

“Apparently the Sun Warriors were keeping something from us back when we asked them about the necklace. That necklace isn’t unique. Apparently, they were created for the exact reason it helped Mike during that fight,” Nick said.

“But why would they keep that from us?” I asked.

“Because they were probably compromised,” Mike pointed out. “Hell, Azula had the entirety of the Earth Kingdom under her control at one point. Convincing a technologically-starved society to help her wouldn’t have been too hard.”

“ _Anyway_ ,” Nick interrupted, “the necklaces were made to become closer to the dragons. Using them, if there was some kind of accident when training around them, the necklaces would simply absorb the flames. The interesting part is what gives them the properties though. The necklace itself is just decorative made by the Sun Warriors. See, the twin dragons on this one obviously represent Ran and Shaw, the last two surviving dragons. But what gives it the property of flame resistance-”

“Is the green stone,” Mike said, pointing to it on the necklace he still wore. “Our guess is that the stone is from the scales of the dragons. This one is green, so it must have been from a dragon that died before Ran and Shaw. We’re guessing they made the necklace to honor him and the only surviving dragons that were left.”

“So that confirms where it came from,” Mei said. “But then how did your dad end up with it?”

“That’s what we’re trying to figure out,” Nick said, gesturing to the books around her. “But the only thing in the Avatar World that works as a portal to the Spirit World – aside from the Avatar itself – is the Spirit Oasis in the Northern Water Tribe.”

My eyes widened. “Nick… isn’t it obvious, then?” Everyone turned to me. “Your dad… or his ancestors… must have been from the Northern Water Tribe. They would have given him access to the Spirit Oasis and it would explain the healing.” I shook my head and clenched my eyes shut. “Why didn’t I think of that before?”

Brie came trotting over to the shelves and sat down in front of us. Nick looked down at her hands before looking back to Mike and the others. “But what about how I look? I don’t look Water Tribe at all,” she said, tugging at a strand of hair.

“Wait a second…” Brie started. “The Spirit Oasis saved Yue once! Didn’t the Moon Spirit change her hair to white? Could that explain why Nick and her dad don’t match the Water Tribe look?”

Before I could respond, we heard books falling to the floor from the aisle next to us. Nick and I exchanged glances before we slowly stood up and poked our heads around the corner. Luckily, it was just a librarian that had dropped some books, and Nick and I breathed a sigh of relief.

I turned back to the group. “That would make sense except that Nick and her dad just have very light brown hair and light skin… not white. But let’s continue this conversation elsewhere. I really don’t like being here unarmed.”

Everyone got up rather quickly, and we walked outside the library doors. But before we got to the parking lot, I threw my arm up in front of Nick.

“I hope you came prepared,” the girl in front of us sneered.

I counted quickly; there were ten Black Lotus members in front of us with the one girl standing at the front.

I gritted my teeth. We didn’t have weapons, we didn’t have a plan, and we didn’t have anywhere to run. And I was the only one that had anything other than my bare hands to fight with.

“The rest of you go back inside,” I hissed to them. I got into a fighting stance. “Leave them to me.”

“If we leave you here to fight them alone, you’ll die!” Mei yelled.

“Do as I say!” I screamed back. I didn’t chance a look at her but I could tell from the silence that followed that I’d hurt her.

“Come on,” Brie said quietly. I heard footsteps start running back inside behind me, but another set of footsteps came up next to me.

“You’re not doing this alone,” Nick said, getting into a fighting stance.

I looked at her, my eyes wide. “You can’t fight them! You can’t bend!”

“I’m not going to leave you with them.” she snapped back. “The others are going around back to grab our weapons. We just have to distract them long enough.”

I nodded slowly.

The girl at the front stepped forward, cackling in a way that made Nick and I both cringe. “She wants to stay?” she asked with a smirk spread across her features. “Fine, let her. You’ll die together!” And with that, she jumped up and shot fireballs at us at a rapid pace.

I tackled Nick to the side and we jumped up just to roll out of the way of another fireball. The rest of the men and women with her fired rocks, water, fire amongst sand and ice. One spear of ice whipped past me and scathed Nick’s shoulder making her cry out in pain. I pulled her out of the way as another one shot past her head, and I kicked in the air to melt the rest of the ice coming our way.

As a boulder shot out at us, I let go of Nick and ran at it, kicking it in the center, smashing it to pieces. I landed on the ground, panting. Nick was at my side quickly and pulled me up again as waves of water crashed over the place we had just been sitting moments before.

When I looked up, I saw that the girl that had addressed us earlier was eyeing Nick. My mind went to another place as I jumped to my feet and dove in front of her.

“ _No!_ ” I heard Nick yell behind me.

In an explosion of energy, I collapsed to the ground, twitching. I squinted my eyes up at Nick who was sitting over me, glaring at the group that was now surrounding us.

“History does repeat itself, don’t you know that?” she cackled.

Nick stayed sitting over me as the group closed in.

I tried to talk but it came out in choppy, raspy utterances. “Nick… go….”

“I’m not running,” she snapped back at me. I noticed the tears streaming down her face.

Just within earshot, I heard footsteps racing toward us and looked over to see Mei, Brie and Mike just outside the circle of Black Lotus. Mei screamed for me, but it gave away their position. They turned on them, weapons clanging to the pavement as their arms were held behind their backs.

Nick looked back to the girl again and through gritted teeth, said “What do you _want_?”

“ _Revenge,_ ” she replied simply.

There was another shot of lightning, but Nick held up her hand, glowing with water around it.

_No._

The lightning connected with Nick’s hand, and she winced but was able to keep her arm steady as it crackled around her. Never in my life had I seen a healer use their power in that way, but I had never seen proof otherwise.

“Smart girl,” she said. “Using your daddy’s little powers against us? How amusing…. You know he used to work for us, don’t you?”

Nick gritted her teeth and spat back, “He was just using you to get information.”

“Oh, well that’s where you’re wrong. He betrayed us, girly. He was a part of the Black Lotus once because he was one of the ones that organized the Earth’s portion of it!”

“That’s not true!” she shot back.

“Oh, but it is! However, once that son-of-a-bitch _Iroh_ got ahold of your father, he changed his ways….”

Nick looked down at me, and our eyes both widened.

“What are you talking about?” she yelled back.

The girl continued. “You see, your father joined our ranks when he was thrown out of the Northern Water Tribe. His _unique_ appearance made him something of a spectacle there… like you are _here_ , Zuko.” I grimaced. “But you see… when his younger brother, Chief Arnook, had a dying daughter, and _she_ was blessed by one of the Oasis Spirits… then it was perfectly okay to look a little strange.” She smirked at Nick.

“I… Arnook… is my uncle?”

“Ah, smart one she’s proving!” The men and women around us laughed out loud at her as she gaped at her. “Though your father was blessed not by the Moon Spirit but by the Ocean Spirit. Which is why he looked the way he did, so much different from a typical Water Tribe man. And that was why he was denied the throne! Then he joined us after the Princess was revived by the Moon Spirit.”

“That can’t be true….”

“It was… up until a particular White Lotus member fought him and gave him a change of heart. General Iroh told him how he should be thankful for the spirits to have saved him and to join the White Lotus to honor the spirits and restore peace to the four nations.”

But before Nick could ask another question, sirens came blaring down the street. The Black Lotus dropped our friends and scattered, getting into unmarked vehicles around the parking lot. In the meantime, Nick sat me upright and the other ran over to us, Mike helping me to my feet too. Mei wrapped her sweatshirt around my torso.

We looked around and saw people coming out of the library steadily. People were taking pictures and videos with their phones, staring at us in awe. This was our town… our home… and now we were a spectacle of it.

I looked up at Nick and only hoped that no one had noticed that I could firebend. When she caught my eye, I realized why she was still crying; if she tried to heal me now, she would be caught too.

Within seconds, the Black Lotus were gone, and an ambulance, police cars, and firetrucks were everywhere. That was when I finally took notice of how much devastation surrounded us.

The library was partly on fire as people poured out of the building. The fire alarm inside caused bright lights to flash and the people were covering their ears.

Nick and I were covered in cuts and soot from the fire, our clothes torn and our hair a mess.

We were all breathing heavily, not knowing where else to go or what else to do. It was obvious then that in the chaos, we weren’t the only ones that got hurt.

“Come on,” Mike said, tugging us along. Nick ended up leaning on Brie while Mei helped Mike. “We need to get out of here before they have questions for us.”

_*Nick*_

We had no idea where were going or what we would do, but the only thing we knew for sure was that we couldn’t ever go back.

“Nick… let me drive,” Mike said slowly from the passenger seat. I snuck a glance and saw the worry etched on his face. “You’ve been driving for the last five hours. You haven’t even stopped to clean yourself up.”

“If we stop,” I said sternly, “we can get caught. And if we get caught, I can’t help him.”

“I’m not saying to stop for the night,” he corrected. “Just switch with me. He needs your healing.”

At that, I swallowed and felt my stomach twist. I didn’t say anything as I pulled over to the side of the highway we were on. It was dark and mostly empty save for a few streetlights. I jumped out of the driver’s seat and pulled open the back door.

On the back seat, Mei and Brie were holding Zuko upright. He was mostly cleaned up by now with bandages on his head and his torso. The girls had taken care of him after I initially healed him while Mike drove, then Brie, then I had been at the wheel since.

I slowly pulled the bandages off of his torso as he winced in pain. I took a deep breath and poured water from a water bottle into my hand. It began to glow a pale blue and I slowly but firmly pressed it to his stomach.

“Just relax,” Brie said gently as she buckled into the passenger seat. Mike started the truck up again and pulled away. “He’s going to be fine. That girl wasn’t nearly the same as Azula.”

“But it’s my fault!” I snapped back at her. “This wouldn’t have happened if I just offered up myself.”

“And where would that have gotten us?” Mei yelled back at me. I winced, my ears still ringing slightly from the alarms going off and the explosions that followed the bending at us. “You would be dead, and no one would be able to heal Zuko anyway!”

“He wouldn’t have been hurt in the first place!” I yelled again.

“Nick…” Zuko squeaked out. I looked down at him in my arms and he took one of my hands in his. “We’re here for you. We know you’ve gone through a lot today.”

Tears welled up in my eyes, but I swallowed hard and forced them back. “That’s not what this is about! You could have been seriously hurt, and it’s my fault!”

“No, it’s not. None of this is your fault. You need to take a breath and regroup. We’re in this together, remember?”

I took one shallow, shaky breath and squeezed his hand gently. I closed my eyes and allowed a few tears to escape before I swept them away with my other hand. I put the water back in the skin. “I’m sorry…. I know…. I just don’t want to lose you… or anyone.”

“We know,” Mei said, putting a hand on my shoulder, gently. “It’s okay.”

_..._

Later that night, the five of us checked into some sleazy hotel miles from where we lived. By the time we got there, it was nearly sun-up, so we got into our two rooms and fell asleep pretty quickly.

None of us had a plan. None of us knew where we were going to go, how we would get answers, or what we could do to stop the Black Lotus. And to make everything worse, now we were all over the news, at the center of the library incident in a small town.

It was hard for me to fall asleep. While I was exhausted, a million details were running through my head. I had met my uncle and not even known it. My dad was once a part of that horrible organization and now they were out for blood because of it. My dad had even known Iroh and had chosen the good side because of him.

But now it was up to us to finish what he started.

We just had no idea how.


	17. Descendent

Chapter Seventeen: Descendent

_*Nick*_

The next morning, I didn’t plan on sitting around. Before anyone else was awake, I went to the convenience store across the street to buy food and water. I kept my head down and hood up, taking care to not look directly at any cameras.

When I got back to the motel, the television behind the front counter caught my eye. Sure enough, we were wanted for questioning about what happened at the library.

But the worst part was that they had gotten footage from someone’s phone of both the girl attacking us, and me using our abilities.

Now the whole world knew that I wasn’t one of them.

I ran back to the room as fast as I could and turned on the lights. I was met with groans from everyone. “Get up, we have to keep moving.”

“Why? What’s going on?” Mike asked, rubbing his eyes.

As everyone started to get up, I helped Zuko to his feet so that I could heal him one more time before we got on our way. “We’re on T.V…. Actually, _I’m_ on T.V. Someone must have recorded me when the fight broke out. It was on the lobby’s T.V. so the people working here will know who are. We have to move.” I undid Zuko’s bandages quickly but carefully and started to heal his stomach. He winced at the touch but relaxed once he felt the familiar warmth of my healing hand. We had gone on like this most of the night, so he was used to it by now.

“But where are we going to go?” Mei asked. “If you’re on T.V; you’re probably all over the internet by now…. Everyone will know who you are.”

“They just know what she can do,” Brie said as she started throwing our things in bags. “They didn’t get our names or images of any of us, did they?” she asked me. I shook my head. “Well then all they know is that you could block an attack from that crazy woman. You weren’t the one causing any problems.”

“But they know I can do things others can’t,” I said, wrapping Zuko up again. “I blocked a bolt of lightning.”

“Even… if you did,” Zuko said, standing up, “that isn’t enough to lock us up. Look for us for questioning, maybe, but not detain us, right?”

“Right,” Mike confirmed for him. “But we can’t be kept in one place for questioning for too long otherwise the Black Lotus will find us again.”

“Maybe we can escape back to Zuko’s world,” Mei suggested. “They wouldn’t be able to find us there, right? And we can get some help.”

“This isn’t Avatar Korra’s fight,” I said. “The more we go back there, the more we interfere with the balance of their world. I think it’s best if we don’t involve her this time.”

“She’s right,” Zuko added, leaning on me. “This is my fight.”

At that, Mei stepped forward and looked him dead in the eyes. Before anyone could blink, she slapped him across the face. “How dare you?” she hissed at him. “How _dare_ you, after everything we’ve been through together say that this is _your_ fight? Do you _see_ what’s happened to all of us? Take a look around, Zuko. This is our fight too.”

At that, Zuko looked around. My shoulder was bandaged but bled through since I had been worrying more about Zuko, Mike’s eyes had bags under them from driving the rest of the way last night, Brie was covered in bruises from pushing through the group of benders to get Zuko out of there, and Mei was done. She had taken the greatest mental beating out of all of us.

Zuko looked down. “You’re right…. I’m sorry.”

“Sorry doesn’t cut it, Zuko! I went against my stupid family, I left home, and I learned how to fight despite everything for _you_! And this is how you thank us?!”

Zuko looked back up at her and grasped her face in his hands. She struggled to put him back, and Zuko was weak so it was difficult, but he managed to move her arms down and kiss her. She immediately relaxed in the kiss, but her face was still red from anger. When he let go, they stared at each other.

“You _are_ right. Let me make it up to you… to all of you.” he added, looking around.

“You don’t have to make it up to any of us,” I said. “All we want is for you to ask for help.”

“Like you, too,” Mike threw in, directed at me.

I closed my eyes and nodded. “You’re right,” I said, holding up my hands. “I do need to ask for help more often too. But right now, we need to figure out what the next step is.”

“The first step is getting the hell out of here,” Brie said, picking up the bags. She threw some to Mike and to Mei. “I’ll drive.”

_…._

In the back seat, Mei held Zuko upright and kept icepacks on him while I struggled to heal myself. The bumps in the road occasionally made me jerk hard and I would hit my shoulder, making it bleed again. Mike sat in the passenger seat while Brie drove. He was looking at a map he had taken from the lobby at the motel and trying to figure out where to go next.

“If we keep going down this road, we’ll continue south.” Mike said.

“And where will that take us?” Brie asked.

“South.”

“Great.”

“No one has anywhere we can go?” Mei asked, expectantly.

“Not particularly,” Mike said.

“So what are we supposed to do? Keep going until we hit Florida?”

“For now, yes,” he answered. “At least down that far south, we can camp in the car because it’ll stay warm enough at night. We won’t have to worry about checking into a hotel or anything for a while.”

“Wonderful,” she said.

“Look, I know we’re all tired,” I said. “But not for anything but I was the one that stayed up all night to heal and keep watch. Anyway, this is really our only choice.”

“All’s fair in love and war,” Brie said.

That was the last thing I heard before being flipped upside down.

The crash of the two cars was deafening and all of us were tossed around as the truck barrel-rolled down a hill. When the world seemed to stop, I saw everything through a cloud of red.

I heard glass shattering around us, and Mei and Zuko beside me were unconscious.

“Mike…?” I croaked out. But there was no answer. He and Brie were hanging from their seatbelts at the front of the car.

“She’s still awake!” I heard a gruff voice call out.

“Fix it!”

Then I felt my body being dragged through the side window as I laid on the ground, staring up at the just-rising sun.

A man loomed over me before I saw black.

_*Zuko*_

The first sensation I felt was incredible agony in my head. I forced my eyes shut, scared to know what had caused so much pain.

The last thing I remembered was everyone bickering in the truck. We were headed south….

I heard a door slam open, hitting a wall. My eyes snapped open.

The room around me was white… cold. I blinked at the blinding light from the fluorescent bulbs, and I noticed that I was laying in a bed with bandages on; when I moved my arms, I was cuffed down to the bed.

“Good morning,” a cold voice echoed. I looked back to where the door had opened, and the same girl that had attacked us at the library had walked to the edge of my bed. Now that I got a good look at her, she was probably around sixteen years old with the iconic golden eyes of the Fire Nation and flowing, long black hair. “Did you have a nice rest?”

“Where am I?” I said, my voice rising. I looked around the room again. Panic. “Where are my friends?”

“Shhh, shhh,” she cooed at me. “They’ve been fine the past few days. They’re here but not quite… _here_.”

My eyes widened. “A few days?! What do you mean they’re here but not?”

She chuckled a light, twinkling laugh. “You’ll find out soon enough.”

“Where are they?! Tell me!” I yelled, feeling the fire coursing through my veins.

“Ah ah ah,” she scolded, looking at the flames beginning to form in my hands. She leaned over the bed and thrust her hand down on my ankle.

I wailed in agony.

“Azula has strict orders for you until she gets back,” I heard through the grunting of pain. “No firebending until she allows it.”

“And if I refuse?”

She slammed her fist down on my opposite kneecap and I screamed again. “Oh… just more of that.” She took a seat in the chair at the end of my bed. Two more guards walked into the room, one dressed in red and the other in blue. “You don’t mind if I invite my friends to stay here with us, do you?” she asked.

I grimaced at her.

“Oh! How rude of me! I forgot to introduce myself!” she said, laughing maniacally. “I’m Honora… your great-granddaughter!”

_*Nick*_

The burning on my back was enough to make anyone cry. But I wouldn’t bow down under the pain.

I was strong as long as we were still together.

Yami was a waterbender woman that had taken a liking to my after mouthing off to her multiple times for antagonizing the rest of the group. She had taken a liking to using her water whip on my back when she felt like playing games. She had the same blue eyes as anyone else in the Water Tribe and wore the same blue clothes of a Water Tribe royal. But one difference made her look strange for the Water Tribe; she had white hair.

We were all usually chained to the floor but not close enough to touch; each of us had one corner of the cell… a white, cold cell with lights bright enough to blind you.

“ _Please… stop!”_ Mei would scream. Brie couldn’t watch, and Mike continuously tried to break free of the cuffs – more often than not – making his wrists bleed.

Yami cackled as I spit blood on the floor. Our old clothes had been torn away from us and replaced with traditional outfits of whatever nation they had assigned to us.

Being a healer, I was given a traditional Water Tribe outfit. But when I would be beaten, the undergarments they had given me was all I was allowed to wear.

My back… I would not let the others look at it as long as I could help it. Most often afterward, I would either prop myself up against the wall or lay so that my back faced the wall; I never laid down on it anymore.

“Do continue!” she encouraged Mike. “The more you struggle, the more the rest of you will as well! Honora has already taken care of little Zuzu-”

“ _No!”_ Mei screamed. “ _Don’t touch him!”_

She laughed again, pausing from striking me, kicking my body to the floor. I took care to not let my back face the others by rolling onto my side. I was finally able to take a deep breath despite the pain and the tears streaming down my face.

I lifted my head to watch as Yami bent down in front of Mei. I didn’t dare speak because if I did, I’d probably risk her hurting Mei.

Mei’s body was shaking in sobs. Yami kneeled down in front of her and lifted her chin. “My sister is taking great care of him for Firelady Azula, don’t you worry.” she said with a smirk.

“She’s not a princess,” Mei choked out. “Not anymore.”

“Is that so?” she prodded. “Who is your great leader then? Zuko? Ha! He retired ages ago when Izumi took the throne! Next in line is Iroh… which makes _us_ the new princesses.”

Mei glared at her, steadying her breath. “What are you talking about?”

“Oh dear! You didn’t know!” she said in mock surprise. “Little Iroh had daughters! Twins!”

Mei narrowed her eyes further, not quite understanding what she meant. We had known that the world of the Avatar had gone on without Zuko, and we chalked that up to him visiting every so often to maintain some semblance of balance there. He had appeared older to the rest of the world there to make up for the time difference, and we figured Izumi would be best explained as Zuko and Mei’s future daughter. It was the only way we could think of to explain the absence of a mother. We had met Iroh once but hadn’t realized that the world had continued at a faster pace.

“Those twins are myself and Honora!” she squealed.

“You’re… my great-granddaughter?” Mei’s eyes widened in horror.

“That’s right!”

Mei looked down. She was ashamed and confused; it was written all over her face. If I could speak I would have tried to convince her otherwise, but I would have put Mei at risk.

“But then why are you a waterbender?” she asked. “Iroh is Fire Nation.”

“And we _have_ a winner! Let me ask you something, _Gran-Gran,_ ” she hissed. “Why would I be torturing you and the girl on the floor over there, specifically?”

Mei glanced over to me and winced. “I… I don’t know.”

“Yes you do…” she said, standing up. She started walking over to me, and I closed my eyes, bracing myself.

“I don’t! Please… don’t do this!” Mei called out.

“You know why, and you’re wasting time!” she spat.

“But I don’t! I didn’t even know that you were related to me!” she paused, trying to think of what to say. “I… I want to meet Honora. You’re both my great-granddaughters, right? I’d love to be a family….”

“Family! Ha! I knew you would know the answer!” A whip at my back. “Get up, girl.”

“ _Please! I don’t understand!”_ Mei yelled again through her tears.

“Tick, tock!” Another whip. “She’s going to get it really good this time….”

“ _PLEASE!”_

“Alright! Alright! Spirits, you’re giving me a headache,” she complained. “I’ll give you one last hint,” she said, bending down beside me. She picked up my face in her hand. Then she whispered, just loud enough so anyone of us could hear, “Does the name Yue ring a bell?” Then she dropped me back the floor. I wasn’t strong enough to roll myself over, and finally, after days of hiding it, everyone saw my back.

Mei gasped in horror and Mike just got angrier. Brie winced as if feeling the pain herself.

“I’ll leave you to it then,” Yami said, leaving the cell. She hadn’t even bothered to chain me back to spot. She knew I couldn’t move anymore.

“Descendent,” Brie breathed.

“Wh… why…? Why would she need to do that to her?” Mei cried, shaking her head.

“It’s our hint,” Mike said, finally getting ahold of himself. “Someone is related to Yue.”

“Nick is,” Brie said. “But what does that have to do with the twins?”

“Well do we know who Iroh married?” Mike said.

“No, we don’t,” Brie replied. “But obviously it was someone Water Tribe.”

“And related to Yue.”

“But what is it,” Mei asked, “a great-niece or something? Did Yue even have siblings?”

“Not that I’m aware of,” Brie recalled.

“Then why use the word ‘descendent’?” Mei asked. “Who’s a descendent of who?”

“I guess that’s what we have to figure out,” Mike said.

_*Zuko*_

“My great-granddaughter… and you’re a twin?” I asked, trying to process what was happening.

“Ah! You’ve finally caught on!” she said. “So! Does that not explain why both the world of the Avatar and here… this… _Earth_ … were conspiring against you? She worked the world of the Avatar while I stayed here… to get to _you_.”

“But why?” I pleaded. “Why work for Azula when you’re my great-granddaughters?”

“It’s simple, really. It’s all just how we plan to kill you and your friends.”

“What have we done to make you both so angry? I know that we’ve been trying to hunt down Azula, but why take their side now, after all of this?”

“ _Revenge_.”

“I really don’t get you.”

“You don’t have to,” she said with a shrug. “As long as you and Nick are dead, we’ve pleased Azula.”

“And what does she plan on doing once we’re out of the way?”

“Oh, you know, the usual,” she said, nonchalantly waving her hand. “Expose benders on Earth and become the dominant race both on this world and the Avatar.” Then she lowered her voice. “One step at a time, Zuzu. This was our first goal. That’s the endgame.”

“What makes you think we won’t put up a fight?”

“Well I mean sure you will,” she said. “It’s just that Azula wants to see you both one last time before we get to kill you. We’re just playing with you until then.”

“She’s using you,” I insisted. “She won’t let you kill us. She won’t even let you take power. She’ll probably kill you for being related to me.”

“Then that’s a triple toll on our heads!” she exclaimed.

“What are you talking about?”

“You haven’t guessed it yet?” she whined. “Seriously, Zuzu, Azula told me you were smarter than that!”

“Of course I haven’t guessed it! I just found out who you are!”

“Think about what you already know,” she sneered.

I stopped reacting to her insistence. Finally, I just thought and didn’t question. “You want revenge.”

“Well, duh.”

“You’re related to me.”

“Right!” she said, glowing. “Warmer….”

“You’re related to Mei.”

“Yes! Getting warmer!”

“Yet you work for Azula.”

“True… but you’re getting colder.”

I paused. “Who’s the third toll?” I asked.

At that, she jumped up and down, clapping her hands together. “Yay! That’s it! Who is it?”

“Nick.”

“That’s right!”

“But the reason you want revenge against her is because of how you’re related.”

“You’re so close!”

“It must have to do with her father being in the Black Lotus.” Nick would deny it to the bitter end, but it had to be the connection I was looking for. “He joined because the throne of the Northern Water Tribe was taken from him for looking like an outsider….”

She nodded her head, jumping up and down.

“You’re related to Arnook.”

“You’re right there!”

“Nick’s father hated Chief Arnook for taking the throne. But when he met my uncle, he realized that finding a peaceful way to freedom was the right way.”

“Yes….”

“But how could you be related to Arnook? You can’t be descended from Nick.”

“Right!”

“Yue?”

“And we have a winner!”

I narrowed my eyes at her, and she sighed, looking disappointed.

Just then, there was a light tapping-knock on the door.

“Yami, he guessed it!” Honora exclaimed. The door slid open, and a Water Tribe girl with white hair strode inside. My eyes widened at the sight of her. “Explain it to him!”

“Okay…. So you ever wonder why Yue was forced to marry that moron, Hahn? Obviously he wasn’t a noble or very intelligent right? Just some random soldier…. Anyway, he got Yue pregnant!”

My jaw dropped. “She was pregnant when she was with Sokka?” He had told me about how his girlfriend turned into the moon. When he first blurted that out, I had said “That’s rough, buddy.” But later I asked him about it, and I told him more about Mai. He had no idea she was pregnant.

“Wrong answer! She already _had_ the baby! The royal family kept it a secret so that after the wedding was over, they could announce the next in line for the throne after Hahn!”

“So it was a coverup….” Then it hit me. “Yue was raped and they covered it up.”

Both girls clapped and jumped up and down. “That’s right! He finally did it!”

“That child…. What happened to it?”

“Well eventually it became the next Chief of the Northern Water Tribe after Hahn,” Yami said.

“Then that son had a daughter,” Honora said.

“And that daughter was a princess,” Yami said.

“And that daughter married your grandson,” Honora said.

“And they had us!” Yami and Honora said together.

“So you’re both related to Mei, Nick, and I?”

They looked at each other before looking back to me and nodding.

“So you want to eliminate Arnook’s brother’s lineage to keep the throne of the Northern Water Tribe, and that would help Azula take over in the Avatar’s World?”

“He’s smarter than we thought,” Yami said.

“Wait till he hears about what you put on Nick’s back because they couldn’t guess!”


	18. Tears

Chapter Eighteen: Tears

_*Nick*_

The first sensation I felt again was intense burning on my back.

“Nick!” I heard Mike yell. I winced in pain. Even the sound of a voice was enough to bring me pain again.  “Guys, she’s waking up!”

Clenching my eyes shut, I tried to roll onto my side from my stomach, but my arms were shaking so much, I fell back onto my chest.

“Nick!” Mei called. “Open your eyes! She’s gone!”

At that, my eyes snapped open. I looked around the room, my eyes darting to every corner – that I could see without moving – and the door.

“I know you’re in a lot of pain right now, Nick,” Brie said, “but we figured out at least a little bit of what’s going on. Yami… she put a word on your back.”

My eyes widened. _The lashes._

“I… What… What does it say?” I swallowed.

“ _Descendant_ ,” Mei said, her voice uneven. “Yami… a-and Honora…. They’re… they’re my descendants.”

My eyes widened and I looked to Mei. “They’re… _related_ to you…?”

“They’re related to you, too,” Brie explained. “They’re descendants of Yue… your cousin.”

“I… I don’t understand….” Still, I was laying on the floor, unable to move. And right then, I didn’t want to move. My head felt heavy and the burning on my back made it difficult to focus. If I moved or felt anything at all… I knew that this all couldn’t be just a dream.

“Yami and Honora came back and confirmed it,” Mike said, almost spitting out the words. I winced thinking about how I hadn’t even known they had come back. Then he got down lower so that he was eye-level with me. “Yue was raped by Hahn…. That’s why she was engaged to him. It was a cover-up orchestrated by Chief Arnook. The baby was _already_ born; it was too late for Yue when Sokka and the others showed up at the Northern Water Tribe. So there was already an heir when Yue died.”

“But… he… that can’t be….” I stammered. “We met him…. He welcomed us into the palace….”

“It doesn’t change what happened,” Brie said with a sigh. “What we need to do now is figure out how to get them on our side… not Azula’s. If they have any ounce of you, Mei, and Zuko left in them, then I’m sure it’s possible.”

Finally, with my arms quivering, I was able to push myself up onto my hands and knees. Despite the protests of the others to just stay down and save my strength, I crawled over to Mike slowly and collapsed into his chest. Since his arms were chained down to the floor, he couldn’t put them around me so instead he rested his chin on my head.

“What do we do?” Mei said, her voice shaking again.

“I… I don’t… I don’t know anymore.” I said, not entirely sure if the question was rhetorical or actually aimed at me.

Just then, the door slammed opened, making all of us jump.

“Well, well, well….” Yami said walking in.

“Looks like the princess woke up from her nap!” Honora yelped. “It’s time to go!” She strode over to me and pulled me to my feet by my hair. I winced as she did, but I didn’t resist. Resistance would only get me hurt.

I watched as the others had their hands chained behind their backs by Yami as they screamed and flailed to resist her. She threatened them with a knife-shaped icicle and they stopped struggling but didn’t stop screaming.

I was lead to the door by Honora, and she started to push me down the hallway. I turned my head to see that the others were being lead the other direction.

“Nick!” Mei and Brie yelled.

“ _Nick!”_ Mike cried out in desperation.

I turned my head back down the hallway I was walking toward. I bit my lip and looked up at the ceiling, letting the tears fall.

_*Zuko*_

I was staring at the ceiling for what felt like eternity when the door slammed open. Yami and Honora came practically skipping into the room.

“Good evening!” Honora sang.

“We have something special for you!” Yami chimed in.

The two of them came over to either side of the bed and started to untie my arms. When they saw my confused expression, Honora waved a hand at me dismissively. “Oh, we’re not letting you _go_!” she said with a light giggle. “We’re getting you ready!”

I looked down to my feet where they had laid out some Fire Nation clothes for me. They reminded me of the royal robes I had worn in the palace so long ago.

My throat tightened and I struggle to ask the question, “What are those for?”

“The ceremony, of course!” Yami exclaimed. She strode over to the door again and wheeled in a cart of food. My stomach gurgled at the sight of all of the classic Fire Nation delicacies, and I felt my mouth start to water.

Honora giggled at the sound of my stomach and laid a hand on my shoulder. I looked up at her as she finished untying the other side and held out a hand to me. “I don’t bite, you know,” she said winking at me.

Taking a breath, I slid my legs over the side of the bed and took her hand. Helping me stand, she put her other hand behind my back to steady me. Turning away from her, I started to let my robes fall to the ground. Behind me I heard Yami move the cart beside the bed.

“I’ll be going now,” Honora’s voice called behind me. “I must prepare the princess.” I turned my head to the door to see her bow just as she left.

My eyes widened. “Azula? She _here_?” I asked Yami, as calmly as I could manage.

She shook her head. “She’s preparing the _other_ princess, Fire Lord Zuko.”

“Fire Lord?” I questioned.

“Until Princess Azula has her way with you, I suppose,” she said, giggling at the end.

“Wait… who is the other princess?”

“You already figured that out, remember?”

“Nick….” I realized as I she said it.

“Now you need to eat,” she said, handing me a dumpling. I took it from her and took a chunk out of it. “No need to rush!”

I looked down at the robes as Yami went to pick them up. They were long and flowing with a black cape and blood red for the main robes. The edges were trimmed in gold and matched the crown laid out.

Yami picked up the robes and motioned for me to turn so that she could put them on me. I turned so that she could put them over my head and tie the back in place.

Finally, she picked up the crown and turned me to face her. I didn’t mean her eyes as she studied me, wondering how to place it.

Finally, she decided on instead of a full bun – since my hair wasn’t quite the right length – she pulled back the front and set the crown in place.

Taking a mirror off the cart behind her, she held it up in front of me.

When I saw myself, my breath caught. It had been years since I was in royal clothing. With a wave of memory, my throat tightened as I thought of Mai…. I remembered our wedding and our lives in the palace. I remembered my duties as the Fire Lord and my mother… and Uncle….

Yami pulled back the mirror slowly and set it down. She tried to put a hand to my scarred cheek, but I flinched out of the way briefly. When I turned to face her again, her eyes seemed softer somehow. She wasn’t smiling or cackling. She raised her hand to my cheek again, and this time I allowed her to touch my face.

She ran her thumb over my cheek gently, and it gave me a mild tingling sensation. She studied the scar for a moment before her eyes met mine.

She swallowed. “I… I-I’m sorry,” she mumbled under her breath.

And just like that, the moment was over.

_*Nick*_

“And we’re finished,” Honora concluded. She turned me around to face the mirror on the wall, her hands on my shoulders.

I nearly gaped at my own appearance. For someone that been enduring torture for the past few days, I looked and felt like something different from what I had ever before.

I was dressed in Water Tribe attire. But not any Water Tribe attire; I was wearing what Katara had worn in _her_ final fight with Azula. I didn’t feel like I looked as nice as she had, but something about it made me feel like I _belonged_ in it.

Honora smiled into the mirror at me and gave my shoulders a gentle yet firm squeeze. Naturally, I flinched, but her gaze softened my mood a bit. I wasn’t sure how it did, but it helps how paranoid I was feeling nonetheless.

“You look wonderful, Princess.” she commented. I nodded as a thank you. She sighed at my reply. “I hope you know how sorry we are.”

I didn’t know how to respond to her words. At the time, they didn’t make any sense, so instead of questioning her for fear of being beaten down again, I just nodded in response.

“Ah, well…” she said, nodding her own head toward the door. “We should get going.” She held up a blindfold and signaled for me to turn around so that she can put it on me. I turned and everything fell from sight. There was no gap underneath the blindfold to see the floor either.

With Honora behind me, I walked over to the door – now unlocked – and pushed forward through it.

The stone hallway was dimly lit, so that I couldn’t see through the blindfold. It was the same one that I had been dragged away from my friends in. Thinking of the others made my stomach twist, and I dared not even venture to guess where Zuko was now.

Zuko…. I hadn’t seen him since the crash. None of us had spoken of him in the cell together, probably because no one else wanted to guess his whereabouts.

My hands finally being free was a strange feeling. I wasn’t quite sure what to do with them anymore while walking, so I settled on folding them in front of me, keeping my head down.

When I heard that my feet were no longer clicking on stone but what seemed to be something softer, I stopped walking.

I felt Honora get closer behind me and untie the blindfold, pulling it back.

“Zuko….”

Not even ten feet away from me, Zuko was standing there, completely decked out in all his Fire Nation glory. His robes and crown were something not unlike what I had seen from the show, and it took my breath away.

“You’re alive,” we whispered almost simultaneously. I felt the tears well up in my eyes and saw them brimming on his too.

But the moment broke after a moment because neither of us had any idea what was going on.

We both looked around the room, which seemed more like an arena built underground than anything. But when we turned to one side, we both saw them at the same time.

On a small wooden platform, Brie, Mei, and Mike were chained down to posts behind them. All of them were staring at us in disbelief. None of us had the words to say what we wanted to. We were all so overwhelmed that we were all here, together.

Then, a clapping came from somewhere above us. Well all looked up to see on a balcony some 30 feet above us... was Azula, dressed as she had when she was still royalty.

She continued clapping slowly, a sneer appearing on her face. “How _touching_ Zuzu,” she cooed. “And welcome… _princess_!”

“What have you done, Azula?!” Zuko shouted up at her. “What’s happening here?”

Azula cackled at us, rather maniacally. “What’s happening? Well I believe you all have already figured it out, haven’t you?”

Zuko and I looked to each other, realization appearing on our own faces.

“Princess! Why don’t you turn around for a moment?”

My eyes widened at her words. Slowly, I reached my hand behind my back and touched the scarred skin. I swallowed, realizing that there was an open back to this version of the outfit I was forced to wear. Lowering my head, I turned away from Zuko to face Honora who was still standing behind me. I heard the gasp and flinched at the sound.

“What have you _done_ to her?!” he shouted.

“Me?” Azula taunted. “It wasn’t _me_ , Zuzu! It was _you_! Your great-granddaughter!”

He spun around to face Yami behind him. “ _You_ did this?!” he snapped.

Now it was Yami’s turn to lower her head. “We have to. It’s all for Princess Azula… and Princess Yue! They were the true heirs, and the throne was taken from them by you two!”

“At least they will be soon,” Honora said, coming up behind me. I turned to face her as she explained. “This will all determine who the rightful leaders are….”

Zuko and I looked to each other as everything clicked into place. It all explained how Azula was about to convince them to help; they were descendants of Zuko and Yue. In their eyes, Zuko was incompetent for the throne, just as Azula and Fire Lord Ozai had believed. Yue was taken from the Water Tribe in order to save it. And both of them in an odd way mirrored each other; Zuko was scarred for his incompetency and birthright while for Yue it was her spirit being saved in addition to her own birthright… only after my father was denied the throne.

The Black Lotus was seeking revenge on my father _and_ for Chief Arnook. They wanted to eliminate us so that the thrones in both countries would be permanently secured for their lineages.

“So it’s true then…” I muttered. “He wanted me dead all along…. And you were working with him.”

“Bravo! That is correct!” Azula called out. I clenched my teeth, seeing where Yami and Honora received their habits from. It was all true. And now the product of my disaster of a family tree was about to end the life of everyone I loved. “Now… here’s how it’s going to work. The two of you are going to fight to the death while your friends over there watch. If either of you decides you won’t do it, we start to kill your friends.” She waved her hand and Yami and Honora walked up to either side of the platform the others were chained to. Honora had fire in her hands and Yami created an icicle dagger.

Looking to our friends one last time, I clenched my eyes shut before turning back to Zuko. When I opened my eyes to face him, I felt cold.

“You know what we have to do,” I said to him gruffly.

“I know,” he said, getting into a fighting stance. He created two fire daggers in his hands, and I crouched into a fighting stance of my own.

I just hoped he would end it quickly.

_*Zuko*_

The winner was all too clear from the start. Bender versus non-bender… royalty versus non-royalty… trained versus inexperience. This wasn’t a test of skill; it was a test of will.

When I looked into Nick’s eyes, there was no fear. There was no sadness. There was only courage and determination.

Nick knew from the start what had to be done, and she came to terms with the fact that while her life would end here, the others and myself would be able to live. And to her, that was better than herself and no one else.

I nodded to her, understanding the idea. I charged forward at her, and I watched as she braced herself, holding her hands out in front of her.

As we collided, there was a flash of red and blue light illuminating the dimly lit arena.

Both of us flew back and rolled on the ground away from each other. I pushed myself to my hands and knees and looked over to Nick who was struggling to get up but made it to her feet – albeit, shaking slightly.

I wiped the sweat off my face and started sending fire her way, this time keeping my distance. I wasn’t sure exactly what the strength of her newfound abilities were, so I had to try everything.

Sure enough, the fireballs made contact. Nick crossed her arms in front of her, absorbing two of the fireballs, but her body was pushed back a few inches with each hit. Finally, a particularly large one made contact and threw her onto her back.

All the while, the others were screaming from the sidelines. I had to try not to focus on it though because if I did, I wouldn’t be able to keep going.

Standing up slowly, Nick ran toward me this time, and I waved my arms across my body, sending out a wall of fire out toward her.

She held up her hands in front of her to absorb some of the fire, but she screamed nonetheless from the heat around her that still connected with her skin. Still charging at me – trying to make the fight look as good as possible – she threw a punch at my face, which I threw an arm up to block. She quickly threw another jab toward my throat as my other hand pushed her away, but I grabbed her wrist with my opposite hand and twisted her arm around.

Crying out in pain first, she then kicked backwards at me and landed it square on my stomach, forcing me to release her. She wound up for a roundhouse kick, but I blocked it with one hand and shot a wall of flames out at her with the other.

The blast of fire sent her instantly to the ground. She rolled on the floor, facedown, and her face was covered in soot but not completely burnt. Her arms though looked like they would scar.

At the thought of _me_ leaving her, my best friend, with a scar not unlike the one my father gave me, I stopped fighting. If this was how it had to be in order to save everyone, I didn’t think I could do it.

I let my hands dropped and I came out of my fighting stance. I walked over to where Nick was panting for air and shaking as she tried to push herself off the ground. I lent a hand out to her, and she looked up to me – dazed and confused – but she still took my hand.

“What are you _doing_?!” Azula screamed from the balcony above us. “ _Finish her!”_

“Just kill me instead, Azula!” I yelled back. “I won’t do it! You know I would win!”

“You know the rules!” she screeched. “If this is how you want it, then one of them has to go!”

“No!” I yelled back, holding Nick steady around her waist. “It doesn’t have to be this way! Let Nick kill me instead!”

“Yami!” she yelled. “Show him what insubordination gets him!”

“ _No!”_ I screamed.

Nick and I turned to face the platform as Yami picked up Brie – as high as the chains would allow – and took her icicle to Brie’s throat.

“No….” Nick whispered.

Brie’s eyes were wide. She was looking at Nick in complete and total fear. She swallowed with the blade pressed to her throat. All she said was, “Do right by your dad.”

Gaping at the sight, Yami cut the blade straight across Brie’s throat, sending blood shooting out toward the ground.

Mei was screaming louder than I’d ever heard her scream. But I never took my eyes off of Brie as her body became limp in Yami’s arms. Yami dropped her to the floor in a heap and took care to wipe the blood off of the icicle.

“ _Zuko!_ ” I came out of my stupor at that moment and turned down to Nick, still in my arms. “ _Please!_ Just _kill me!”_ she begged.

I dropped Nick to the ground in horror and backed away from her.

Staring at my own hands, I knew I had to do something. If I didn’t act now, everyone would be killed.

In that moment, I realized what had to happen.

My whole life had led to this moment. My struggle to gain my honor back had led to me befriending the avatar. That, in turn, led me to finally achieving my goal of becoming Fire Lord – but for the right reason. Becoming Fire Lord had meant that Mai and I could finally be together, and it led to her ultimate death by Azula’s hand. The tragedy I couldn’t handle made me attempt suicide and led me to this world….

In this world… was where I awoke and met Nick… my best friend. She was the one that showed me that there was a better way to live life. I had to learn to be who I was as a person and not for anyone but myself for the first time.

I met Mei… the person that gave me a new hope for love. Before her, there was no hope for me to start over and make amends with who I was.

Mike… he showed me what fun is. He showed me that caring about others is the most rewarding thing you can do for yourself. Putting everyone else before myself was what had changed me the most in this world. And the one time I did so in the avatar world, I did it for Katara, and we took Azula down together.

All of those thoughts ran through my head in a jumbled mess in just a few seconds as Honora approached Mei. I looked back to Nick and then up at Azula.

“It’s over.”

And with that, I got into a steady stance, raising one arm with lightning crackling around my hand, fingers pointed out.

“ _No!”_ Mike yelled from the platform.

My other arm raised up, lightning crackling around it. I watched as Nick braced herself, clenching her eyes shut. “Thank you.” she whispered, her throat sounding tense in anticipation.

_“Zuko!”_ Mei screamed.

Lightning flashing through the air and the energy behind it making my robes billow and my hair wild, I pressed my hands over my heart.

There was no scream. There was no feeling. There was nothing left for me to give them as a thank you for everything they had done for me.

This was my way of thanking them for giving me a new life here; I gave them their own lives back.

_*Nick*_

Panting in horror at what had just happened, I felt to my knees at Zuko’s side. Mei’s screams pierced my ears as I picked his head up in my arms and rested it on my lap.

Tears streamed down my face and fell onto his. The only thought crossing my mind was that everything was over.

“ _No!_ ” I heard from above me. I slowly raised my head to see Azula drop down from the balcony in a burst of lightning and fire billowing out around her. “ _He_ was the one that was supposed to be _my_ kill!”

Slowly, I rested Zuko’s head on the floor in front of me and stood up. I sniffed in to hold back more tears and took a shaky breath. With my face stained with tears, my voice shook as I spoke. “If you want to kill me now… just do it. But promise to let the others go.”

Azula scoffed when she looked at me. “How _honorable_ of you,” she said with a smirk. “I supposed it will have to do, since you’ve already killed my brother.” Then, she used the same lightning stance that Zuko had and pointed her finger up. “Say goodbye to your precious friends… and _hello_ to your _father_ for me.”

I clenched my eyes shut and put my hands out as she pointed the lightning at me.

But I didn’t feel any pain in the explosion.

I opened my eyes slowly – once again – to see that all of the lightning had been absorbed into my hands. I had only hoped that it would make the pain a little less, but instead, I had blocked it entirely.

Azula had been knocked backwards, panting in a wild rage. She stood up and glared straight at me.

“Princess Azula!” Honora called. “We can help!”

“ _Silence_!” she hissed. “ _I_ will kill the _Princess of the Northern Water Tribe!”_

And from that statement, something inside me started to warm up. I felt a fire pulsing behind my face as I freely let tears fall… for my father… for Brie… for _Zuko_.

Azula charged at me as I ran at her, and the lightning being absorbed into my hands exploded again, sending us both flying backwards.

We both stood again, and as Azula shot fire and lightning combinations at me as I ran, I absorbed each of them as I came charging at her.

We were close enough to take each other on hand-to-hand. As she shot lightning through the air, I would absorb it in my hand and throw the explosion from my palm into her face. They weren’t enough to knock us back, so we continued to go blow for blow.

Finally, she used a fiery kick that I was prepared for to push me off of her, and I rolled onto the ground. As I turned my head to face her, she prepared another lightning bolt as she ran at me, _screaming_ , and pointed at my face.

I raised up my hands just in time to _catch_ hers in mine.

The resulting explosion was so loud and so powerful that both of us flew backward and hit the opposite walls. I coughed a few times but was able to stand up, shakily as the smoke cleared.

Azula was on floor, unmoving. A wave of relief rushed over me at the sight, and I ran to Zuko, falling to my knees.

A few moments later, Mike was at my side and Mei across from me as well, and I looked back to see the twins wink at me and run off down a hallway.

But I turned my attention back to Zuko and put my hands on his chest.

“You can save him,” Mei insisted. “He’s gonna be okay. He’s gonna be okay… right?”

Biting my lower lip, I pressed both of my hands down over his heart where a gaping hole left little to please the eye. I wasn’t sure if there was anything I could do without water, and Zuko had been out for the entire fight.

I didn’t dare think of Brie.

And to be honest, I wasn’t sure if there was anything left to save.

Regardless, my hands began to glow a faint blue and sink into his chest. Mike had to look away as my arms up to my elbows were soaked in blood.

Zuko’s entire body began to glow the same faint blue. Slowly but surely, I began to feel something pulsing beneath my hands.

A heart.

Slowly, it grew in size until my hands were holding it in his chest as veins and arteries began to form like vines around his _new_ now-pulsing heart. I slowly lifted up my hands, being careful to continue healing as much as I could until finally, my hands were sitting on top of his chest, the hole gone.

“He’s – he’s breathing….” Mei said quietly. Mike turned back to see that my arms were soaked in blood and Zuko had miraculously been repaired. He gaped at me, and I chanced a look at him to see the awe and pride in his eyes.

Looking back down to Zuko, I pressed my bloodied hands to his head, and his forehead began to glow blue.

I pulled my hands away and everyone held their breath.

In that moment, we all saw that his eyes clenched and he groaned softly. Mei gasped as Zuko began to open his eyes, groaning all the while.

“You did it…” she said, tears streaming down her face. “He’s okay….” She lowered her body so that she was laying with his arm in a hug as she kissed him softly, ignoring the blood.

Taking a deep breath, I fell back onto my knees and started to cry. My face in my bloodied hands, I couldn’t believe that I was capable of anything this extraordinary.

My whole life – until that point in time – had no meaning to me. I relied so heavily on others for a reason to live, a reason to keep moving forward, that I no longer cared for myself at all.

This new power that allowed me to help others in a way no one else could gave me a new reason to live. I wasn’t just a hero. I wasn’t just a princess. I wasn’t just a friend. I had made something of myself for the first time in my life….

And I did it to give more life instead of hating it… and myself.

I felt Mike’s arms around me then, and he pulled my bloodied hands away from my face. I looked up at him, and his eyes were warm and brimming with tears.

“I’m… so glad you’re okay….” He cupped my face in his hands and pressed his forehead to mine, both of us closing our eyes. “Don’t scare me like that ever again,” he warned in a whisper. “I love you too much.”

“I love you too,” I said quietly, my voice hoarse.

We kissed.

_*Zuko*_

Taking shallow, shaky breaths, I managed to finally open my eyes. I couldn’t move at all, but I managed to see that Mei was crying at my side.

Nick and Mike were on my other side, wrapped in each other’s arms.

“Nick saved you,” Mei whispered. “You didn’t have to do that….”

“We won because of it,” I asked, “didn’t we?”

“It doesn’t matter,” she said shaking her head. Tears were still streaming down her face. I was finally able to move my arms at least, and I took my opposite hand to wipe the tears off. “You can’t do that to me…. I can’t lose you…. I need you.”

“I’m sorry…. But I had to do it if it meant saving everyone. Even if Nick hadn’t been able to save me-”

“It wouldn’t have been worth it!” she yelled, albeit quietly, frantically. “You can’t leave me! I- I love you!”

I smiled a grim smile but it was one filled with love regardless. “I know. I love you too.”

Then Mei leaned down and kissed me, her arms wrapped around my neck. I was able to hug her back as we kissed, and I felt her warmth bring the life back into me.

When we pulled apart, her and Mike offered their hands out to help me stand. I was wobbling slightly, but I managed to get up and turn to Nick.

Both of us knew that there wasn’t a whole lot to say in that moment. Our eyes had their own conversation about how we were so thankful to have gone through this together.

I held my arms out to her, and Nick threw herself into my arms. I looked over her shoulder to see that Mike and Mei were sharing a warm hug as well. Nick nuzzled her face into my chest with a whisper, “Thank you.”

I whispered back, “Thank _you_ … for everything, Nick.”

We pulled apart and looked at each other again before I turned to Mike. Mike held his arms out for a hug too, and we embraced, patting each other on the back.

“I think we’ve done good,” he said.

“I think so, too,” I said, my voice still hoarse. Mei and Nick were sharing a tearful hug behind us.

When we all pulled apart again, I turned back to face the platform.

There, Brie was still face-down on the stage, a pool of blood dripping onto the floor. I swallowed hard as I walked over and picked up her head in my hands, her tight curls now glued with dried blood.

I leaned down and kissed her forehead as gently as I could. Then, I picked her up in my arms – steadier – and turned to the others.

Mike and Nick hugged a shoulder-side hug, and Mei clasped her hands over her mouth. Everyone knew she was long gone by the time both fights were over. None of us knew what to say.

Just then, we all heard footsteps coming down the long hallway. Mike, Nick, and Mei all got in front of me – each quivering slightly – in a fighting stance and braced themselves for what came next.

But through the hallway came the police, and everyone dropped their fighting stances and breathed again.

_*Later…*_

Eventually, we had all been taken from the police station to an office building in some city. We weren’t sure where we were and weren’t able to ask a lot of questions.

It was one of the most difficult things I ever had to do, handing Brie over to the police. But the officer that took her from my arms said, “We’ll take good care of her.” And I let her go.

The four of us were able to get cleaned up in the office and get new clothes too. We didn’t question it because we were all just glad to be relatively safe.

We had been sitting in a very plain room that overlooked the city on two couches adjacent each other. I was holding Mei’s hand next to me, and Mike and Nick were sitting close with Mike’s arm around her waist.

When the door to the room finally opened, a tall man in a business suit with a long, white beard and tanned skin stepped through, and gracefully walked down the stairs into the room.

“Welcome,” he said, calmly. His voice was soft but sounded hardened with age. He strode over to the couch across from Mei and I, and sat down, leaning his elbows on his knees, clasping his hands together in front of his mouth in thought.

Finally, he spoke again. “I am afraid I have very few words for you, Fire Lord Zuko,” he said with a sorrow in his tone. My eyes widened since I hadn’t been truly addressed as such in such a long time. “All I can say is, I am so very sorry.”

“Excuse me, sir,” Nick spoke up. She coughed once as he looked to her.

“Ah, Princess Nikaya. It is an honor to meet you.”

Nick’s eyes widened as she looked to me for assistance, of which, I had none.

“Please excuse me,” the man said. “Allow me to explain. You do not need to know my name. But I am here to help all of you. I am from the Order of the White Lotus.”

The four of us collectively took a breath. The man in front of us chuckled a genuine laugh before continuing. “My apologies for the delayed introduction. This office is the headquarters for the American branch of the Order. I am in charge here. Of course, being in charge means I must know everything,” he said, an edge of sarcasm to his tone, “and thus, I know who all of you are. Princess Nikaya,” he said, turning to Nick again. “I apologize for the titles. However, that was what the world of the avatar and the Order of the White Lotus has come to call you in lieu of your Earth name, Nicolette.”

Nick nodded in understanding.

“Now,” he said. “The four of you are free. Azula has finally been defeated, and the twins… are in our care,” he explained, looking to Mei and I. “We will be attempting to rehabilitate them and send them back to the world of the avatar.”

“So… what about being wanted?” Mike asked. “We were all over the news and the internet. That doesn’t just go away.”

“Ah, a smart one he is,” the man said, eyeing Nick. “Indeed, it does not. But I assure you, we are doing everything we can to rid that of your records.”

“So the White Lotus,” Nick began, “is in with the police? They can help us?”

“Indeed we are!” he exclaimed. “We want to make the transition back to your normal lives as easy as possible.”

I looked to Nick to see if I could tell if she was thinking the same.

_Normal?_ What did that even mean anymore?

“What about our families?” Mike asked suddenly. “Weren’t they informed of everything?”

“Since all of you are legal, they do not need to be. Depending on your wishes, we will take care of your decisions and what to inform them of.”

“So… we can just… go?” Mei asked. The man in front of us nodded.

I looked to Nick again as she bit her lip.

“Sir,” she began, “what if we didn’t _want_ to go back to normal?”

“Ah, yes. I figured you would be the one to ask that.” he said. “You want to go to the world of the avatar to train?” she looked to me, then to Mei, then finally to Mike before looking back at the man and nodding.

“If she’s going, I’m coming too,” Mike said immediately. “I go where she goes.”

“Loyalty at its finest,” he said with a nod of his head. “Very well. I can make that possible for the both of you.”

Finally, Mei and I looked to each other. Her eyes were curious but I could sense the small fear in them.

I made up my mind.

“Sir…. I want to stay.”

“Fire Lord Zuko, you are more than welcome to stay in this world.”

I looked back to Mei, and her eyes lit up. “But… what about the Fire Nation?”

“I’m not a ruler there anymore, remember? I’d have to be in hiding for the rest of my life if I went back. I want to start over again. And I want it to be here… with you.”

Mei smiled and kissed my cheek.

The man in front of us laughed lightly. “What a joyous day! The princess returns to her homeland, and the Fire Lord gets to retire at last!” He clasped his hands together and stood. “Princess Nikaya… and Mike, is it? When the two of you are ready, follow me out the door and down the hallway on your left. We must make preparations for your departure and create an identity for Mike. Fire Lord Zuko and Mei…. The two of you are free to leave down the hallway out the door and to the right whenever you are ready.” He smiled down at all of us and bowed. “It has been an absolute _honor_ to meet you all.” And he walked back up the steps and out the door.

Nick and I locked eyes as we stood up.

“So….” she started.

“This is goodbye….” I said.

At that, Nick jumped into my arms once again, burying her face into my chest. I put one hand on her head and one behind her back as we both allowed tears to fall. She sobbed into my chest, and I had to take deep breaths to hold myself together.

When we pulled apart, we looked into each other’s eyes for a long moment in time. We both remembered meeting for the first time and how I had thought she was Katara. She introduced me to her world and saved my life without a second thought. We both knew that if it wasn’t for each other, we both wouldn’t be here.

There were no words to express how we both felt in that moment. So we both just stared for a moment longer.

“Thank you,” I said to her.

“Thank you,” she replied.

We squeezed each other’s hands outstretched one last time before letting go. I turned back to Mei and hugged her gently, and Nick hugged Mike as well.

Mei and I turned to the door and walked up the stairs down the hallway, holding hands. We stopped at the intersection of the hallways and turned to see Mike and Nick walking together with Mike’s arm around her waist again, and the two of them stopped and turned back to us.

We all waved at each other before turning away.

“Thank you.”

_The End._

**[Author’s Note 4/11/16]: When I started this story, I didn’t have an end in mind. The idea I had was to just go on an adventure with my friends and Zuko. But this story and these characters have developed so much and become so close to my heart that for a long time, I was in denial that it should end. But now that it finally has, I couldn’t be happier with the way it turned out.**

**Thank you to all of my readers, reviewers, critiques, and to all of my friends that inspired the characters of this story. They weren’t just some lame OC’s, everyone. They were all based on real people, so thank you to them for making this story great.**

**Thank you Zuko, for inspiring me to write this story for you.**

**Thank you, the reader, for giving this story some of the most views I’ve ever had and for giving me the motivation to continue writing.**

**-Nikaya**


	19. Epilogue

Chapter Nineteen: Epilogue

_*Five years later*_

_*Zuko*_

“It’s been so long….” Mei mused.

We were on a ship being sailed by the White Lotus, heading to the Northern Water Tribe. We had made a stop at a White Lotus compound to get proper attire for the occasion.

Mei was wearing a beautifully flowing Water Tribe gown with some of her hair pulled back at the sides. My outfit complimented hers well, and it was a little strange to be in.

I looked to Mei, admiring her for just a moment before looking back out over the water. “It has been,” I agreed.

Before us, the grand wall of ice marked with the symbol of the Water Tribe appeared in the distance.

“I’m so happy for them,” she said again, leaning over the balcony. “They’re so perfect for each other.”

I nodded. “Me too. And they are.”

Then she turned to me. “You don’t think Nick will mind that we brought him, will she?”

I shook my head. “I think it will be good for her.”

_*Nick*_

I couldn’t have asked for a better ceremony.

Despite not knowing much of the Water Tribe customs previous to a few years ago, everything went smoothly. My gown was more than I could have ever hoped for; and instead of white, it was my favorite color blue.

Mike looked amazing too. He wore Water Tribe attire rather well, and he was excited at how surprisingly comfortable they were.

After the ceremony, Mike and I were walking around during the cocktail hour greeting guests. We were speaking with another Water Tribe noble from the White Lotus when I felt a tap on my shoulder.

When I turned, I instantly lit up. I jumped to Mei, squealing in excitement. “You came!”

“You look incredible,” Mei said as we pulled apart. “And your necklace!” she gasped. “It’s beautiful!”

“He _actually_ learned how to carve it himself,” I said proudly. I smiled at her genuinely before turning to Zuko. “Look at you, rocking the Water Tribe look!”

Zuko smirked and coughed a bit. “Yeah, well…. Wasn’t like I should wear my crown and robes.”

“Haven’t changed a bit,” I said, hugging him at last.

“It’s been too long,” he said, hugging me back. “Oh, and I hope you don’t mind, but we brought a guest.”

“Who…?” I asked trailing off.

Behind Zuko, there he was, standing there.

“Cody….”

“Congratulations, Nick…. Mike….” he said, scratching the back of his head. “You look… uh… great!”

I smiled at him warmly as I walked over and hugged him gently. “Thank you…. I’m so glad you’re here.”

“Glad to be here,” he said with a shrug as we pulled apart.

“How…? Why…? Not that I’m not excited,” I said as Cody and Mike shared a brief hug.

“Cody here is something of a hero,” Mei said, giggling. I looked to Cody, raising an eyebrow.

“He made a huge sacrifice for us,” Zuko explained. “He took the blame for the fight that was caught on camera.”

“ _What?”_ I asked.

“Well, when I saw that you guys were in some serious trouble, I couldn’t sit back and watch knowing what was probably going on,” he explained. “I told the media that it was a hoax and the White Lotus backed me up. It made a good cover story, I got a couple of B.S. interviews, but it worked.”

“Because of Cody,” Mei said, “Zuko and I were able to go to college together without being harassed at all. The wonder of the story wore off before we even started classes.”

“Cody… thank you…” I said.

He scratched the back of his head again and blushed. “Yeah, well…. That’s what friends are for, right?”

I smiled at him. “I’m glad you see it that way.”

“Well look at you!” Mei exclaimed. “What have you been up to here?! Ruling a country is such a drag, am I right?” she joked, nudging me.

I laughed. “Well I haven’t been here the _entire_ time,” I said. “Most of what I’ve done here has been pretty political, actually. I brought a lot of reform here, and got the acceptance of female waterbenders passed as well as male healers. I also was able to change the style of bending to include absorbance through healing.” Mei’s eyes lit up with excitement and Zuko crossed his arms, clearly impressed. Cody’s eyes were wide, and I continued.

“So when we first got here… and by here, I mean _this world_ ,” I whispered. “We stayed at the South Pole for a while. I learned healing from Katara, even teaching her how to absorb energy through it, and Mike learned some new fighting techniques at the White Lotus compound there. After two years, the White Lotus informed us that the last Chief of the Northern Water Tribe in that lineage was sick with old age. So they asked me if I would accept my rightful place on the throne, and I agreed.”

Mei jumped up and down clapping at the story. Zuko was smiling with pride, and Cody was shaking his head, trying to grasp it all.

“So here, as you probably heard them announce during the ceremony, I use the title, Chief of the Northern Water Tribe, Princess Nikaya. And Mike… well it’s kind of a funny story,” I said, gesturing to him.

“I guess…. I mean, to explain who I was, the White Lotus gave me some paperwork saying that I was from Republic City and that I was born half Water Tribe, half Earth Kingdom, explaining my appearance and the lack of blue eyes. So since Nick was busy with ruling the country, I became the Head General of the North.”

“Mike! That’s awesome!” I said, excitedly but quietly.

“It’s actually Mikida, now,” he said, smirking. “Fits the disguise, right?”

“So what about you guys?” I asked, getting more excited now. “You guys went to college?!”

Zuko and Mei looked to each other and started laughing.

Mei spoke up. “We went together! I went for nursing, and Zuko went for creative writing! He’s a professor now!”

My eyes widened as I smiled broadly. “Zuko! That’s great! I’m so happy for you!”

“Yeah…. Thanks, Nick- uh… Princess Nikaya,” he said with a small bow.

I dismissed him with a wave of my hand, but I bowed back regardless. “Please, don’t do that to me,” I said, shaking my head.

“What about you, Cody?” Mike asked.

“Oh, I got a job in industrial design,” he said with a shrug. “No big deal.”

“Look at them,” Mike said, nudging me. “They went to college and have jobs! We’re just a couple of bums, aren’t we?” I giggled in slight embarrassment, but everyone else was laughing.

Music started playing behind us, and I turned to Mike, smiling. “I think that’s our cue.”

“Go,” Zuko said, waving us forward. “This is your night; don’t let us stop you.”

I smiled to him, Mei and Cody. “Thank you guys… for everything.” Mike held out his hand in a small bow, and I took it, bowing back, and he led me onto the dancefloor.

_*Zuko*_

After the ceremony, we would be staying the Northern Water Tribe for about a week. When it was over, I led Mei outside of the palace and out the back to the Spirit Oasis.

“It’s so beautiful here,” Mei said, looking around in awe. “I know I’ve seen it before, but I think this is my favorite place in the avatar world.”

“It’s definitely become one of mine,” I agreed. “So much has happened revolving around this pool….”

Mei put a hand on my shoulder, looking into the water. “Those memories are something this water will hold forever, won’t it?”

I looked to her and smiled. “It does,” I said. I took a step back from her, and got down onto my knee.

Mei gasped, covering her mouth with one hand while I held onto the other. Releasing her hand, I reached into my shirt and pulled out a small, blue box. I popped it opened, and she gasped again. “Zuko….”

The ring wasn’t anything spectacular. But for Mei, I thought it was perfect.

The main diamond was set in the center with smaller ones forming a heart around it.

“I tried coming up with something in advance… but even as a creative writing professor, I couldn’t come up with the right words,” I said as Mei giggled, tears forming in her eyes. “So I’m gonna wing it here…. Mei. Words cannot express how I feel about you. We’ve been through more than most any two people can go through together. After Mai died…  I didn’t think there was any reason to keep going. But through all of this, you have shown me that there is so much more to life than one person. You showed me how to laugh… to love… to enjoy life…. You showed me what it means to truly be yourself. Nothing has meant more to me than learning the joys of life with you. So Mei…. Will you marry me?”

She let the tears stream down her face, and no one had ever looked so beautiful.

“Yes!”

I took her hand again and placed the ring on her finger, as she laughed, admiring it. When she looked back to me, I stood up and picked her up in a kiss, swinging her around in my arms.

In the end, everything turned out different from how I had always dreamed....

But it was perfect.


End file.
